Meet the Family
by CoalTreasure
Summary: What would happen if the Creatures of Perim met the mothers of their players? I don't own anything! ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: This had been bothering for awhile, so I wrote it down. I made some changes. Enjoy!_**

Meet the Family Ch 1

The great Overworld leader, Maxxor, glanced up at the gloomy grey sky and grimaced. Swirling thick clouds, heavy with rain, reflected his mood as he and the other Tribal Alliance leaders awaited the arrival of some humans that had no idea of who they were dealing with. He wasn't completely sure what the reactions of the human mothers, but he had a feeling that if they were anything like Perim mothers, then they were in for the _tirade_ of a _lifetime_. Maxxor shuddered as he thought about what would happen after the human children went home, to Earth. Tom had predicted that he and Kaz were going to face the worst punishment ever since they were five, but quickly reassured him that they would still be alive after the experience.

They haven't said what happened when they were five and, while Maxxor was curious, he wasn't going to press the issues, unlike _some_ Underworlders. Maxxor sneaked a glance at Chaor, the ruler of the Underworlders. He had continued to pester the boys to tell him what had happened, despite numerous warnings from both of his advisers and the kids themselves, until Kaz snapped at Chaor and stomped off.

A drop of rain plopped on Maxxor's small nose, bringing his attention back to the sky. As rain began to sprinkle down, Maxxor thought back on how the humans' Earth selves became one with their Chaotic selves.

It was during the Mount Pillar passage of the Perithon, over eight days ago. The M'arrillians gone, the tribes were celebrating. Tangath Toborn and his team had survived the massive wave that the M'arrillians had tried to create but failed. As Tangath told them all later, a strange being made completely out of snow flurries handed the Song of Stasis to him and asked him to stop the wave. The heat cannon was about ready to fire when the mugic was cast, saving everyone. Tangath and his team were declared heroes after the final battle.

Maxxor, Intress, and Tangath were watching the race as the racers came out of the tunnels leading to Mount Pillar. The Danians were about to fire parasites at the racers when it happened.

First one scream, and then several more rang out as a player to close the edge fell. Ulmar barely had enough time to brake before he ran over the player or worse, have the player fall on the Ulmanator and do more damage. All other racers stopped as more players fell and the spectators grabbed the rest. The Kolmogo was the only vehicle that didn't stop, though it wasn't hard for Chaor to catch up to it after the tribal leaders arrived and discover Kaz and Peyton in the drivers' seats, unconscious.

Quickly, things got out of hand. Backpacks began to appear next to many players and others began to twitch before becoming unconscious again. The tribal leaders agreed to take players to their major cities for help. Underworld players went to Underworld City with Chaor, Overworld players went with Maxxor to Kiru City, Odu-Bathax took Danian players to Mount Pillars, and Prince Mudeenu claimed the Mipedian players. Maxxor grabbed Tom and his backpack and headed to Kiru City with the rest of his warriors. Chaor rescued Kaz and his backpack from the Kolmogo.

When Maxxor reached Kiru City, he immediately took Tom to his and Intress's chambers and called for Najarin. When the muge arrived, he began to do a physical examination on the Italian-American boy. At last, Najarin sighed.

"There is no physical ailments that would caused this to all the humans. I checked several others on the requests of Heptadd, Dalgad, and Kinnianne. Their humans were in the same condition as Tom is," he explained. Then the blue muge frowned. "However, I haven't had the time to check their minds. That could be the problem."

"Can you even get into his mind?" Intress asked. Najarin nodded. "Once, during the invasion. This was before the final battle."

Maxxor looked hard at Tom, who looked so peaceful in their bed and under covers. Maxxor sighed.

"Do it," he commanded. Najarin nodded solemnly and quickly entered the young teenager's mind.

_It was foggy in Tom's mind. Najarin could feel the mist swirling around his robes as he moved closer to what could be the problem. Memories, clear blue and green wisps memories, floated and twisted around him. Cautiously, he touched a green memory. He was sucked into a party, with many people and tables of food, bright cheery balloons with the human English words "Happy Birthday!" in big bold letters floated around the ceiling. Screeching drew his attention to a window where small human children were playing a game. Najarin immediately recognized Tom, despite the fact that he was no longer tall and wearing coveralls. He realized that the memory was an Earth memory and quickly exited. _

_Back in the mist of Tom's mind, Najarin touched a blue memory to reveal the day he and Tom met. Quickly exiting that memory as well, Najarin continued deeper into the mist. Suddenly, he noticed the problem. A pair of blue and green memory wisps were tangled together, becoming darker the more it struggled. Tom, the Tom he knew, was trying to untangle them. Najarin stepped forward._

"_Tom," he called out. Tom whipped his head up to see the Overworld muge. The old blue Creature held out his hands. _

"_May I?" Najarin asked politely. Tom looked at the tangled memories and nodded. _

"_Okay," he agreed, handing the tangled mess over. Najarin quickly spotted the problem as soon as he had the two memories in his hands. Quickly he untangled the green and blue memories and let them go. Then he glanced back at Tom. The Italian-American teenager smiled gratefully and Najarin felt himself being pulled back into his own mind._

When Najarin opened his own eyes, the first thing he saw was that Tom was still not wake. That was expected, the small glimpses given off of the tangled memories suggested that their human was tired. Straightening his back, Najarin looked up to the worried faces of Maxxor and Intress. He gave the anxious couple a small smile.

"He's fine, just needs some sleep, that's all," the ancient muge said. Relief flashed on his leader's face and Intress breathed a sigh of relief. Najarin continued, "I just need to wake the other Overworld humans and tell Kopond, Lore, and Enre-Hep how to wake their humans."

Maxxor nodded his consent and Najarin left the chambers in a hurry. Intress crossed the room and sat at the edge of the bed, looking on Tom's peaceful face.

"I wonder what caused all the humans to lose unconscious like that?" she murmured gently, trying not to wake the sleeping boy.

"I don't know, but I am going to find out," Maxxor swore.

_**A/N: What do you think? Yes, I made Tom Italian. Don't like it? Don't care.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Chapter 2! I made some edits in the first chapter so see that as well. I don't own anyone!_**

Meet the Family Ch 2

H'earring was sitting upon Chaor's bedside table, setting up a small glass of water, a candle holder, a small bag of rocks, and a menagerie of various sized books. Kopond had been working nonstop, entering each Chaotic player mind and untangling the memories within. He had finished with Kaz, who was currently in Chaor and Takinom's bed and covered in furs, over two hours ago. Chaor and Takinom were hovering by the door, each looking doubtful at the rabbit Underworlder.

"Are you sure this will work?" Takinom asked for the umpteenth time. H'earring rolled his eyes, though he couldn't blame her for being concerned. Kaz was a favorite of hers, and Takinom was as possessive as Chaor when it came to her favorites.

"Of course it's going to work! I've done this to him before! Of course, he was okay during those times, but it still should work," he claimed in his squeaky voice. Takinom looked to her leader, her _mate_, and Chaor nodded.

"Wake him up," he ordered. The mighty red Creature glared at the innocent backpack that they found next to Kaz. "I want to know what's in that bag."

H'earring nodded and began his operation. First, he knocked over the candle holder. Kaz only made a small stirring. The glass of water met the floor next, splashing water everywhere and the cup rolling under the table. Kaz twitched this time, but still didn't wake up. H'earring grabbed the small bag of rocks and a small book and dropped them to the floor, creating a groan from Kaz. Finally, he randomly chose books and let them drop to the ground. The resulting sound was compared to a balloon popping multiple times. This caused Kaz to groan and open his eyes. Squinting slightly, he aimed a glare at the grinning H'earring.

"Do you always have to do that when you want me up?" he asked the Underworlder. H'earring just chuckled darkly. A low cough caused Kaz to look over at Takinom and Chaor. Sitting up quickly and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Kaz watched the leader of the Underworld and his mate come over to him. Takinom sat at the edge of the bed and her jasper eyes bore into Kaz's chocolate ones.

"So," she drawled out. Kaz looked between the two Creatures.

"Okay, besides me passing out, what happened?" he asked.

"All the humans passed out with you and your friend in the Kolmogo," Takinom said.

"All the tribes took their players home, and the source of why you went under hasn't been found yet," H'earring followed up, climbing up onto the bed to snuggle with Kaz.

"What I want to know is what that thing is!" Chaor growled in his deep voice, pointing to the harmless bag. Kaz peered around the bedside table to see…

"How did my schoolbag get here?" he asked in astonishment. Takinom perked up at the word "schoolbag."

"Schoolbag?" she asked mischievously, a wicked smirk on her face. Kaz caught her expression and panic flinted across his face.

"No! Absolutely not! No!" He tried to climb out of Chaor and Takinom's bed, but he was too tangled up in the furs and H'earring was a heavy weight next to him. By the time he got out of the bed, Takinom was high in the rafters with his bag.

"Let's see what we have here," she grinned. Her hands unzipped the bag and dipped in to reveal a large hardcover book with the title _World History_. Takinom whistled.

"World History, huh? Wonder what's in here," she said, opening the thick book. It was full of color pictures, and words marched across the pages.

"Come on, Takinom, can I have my books back?" Kaz's voice brought her attention to the floor, Chaor next to the tiny human boy. H'earring was still on their bed, content on sitting and watching the drama. Takinom snapped the World History book shut and placed the book back into the schoolbag.

"Do you have school work to do?" the winged she-Creature asked Kaz. Frowning, Kaz nodded.

"Good. Get it done," Chaor rumbled. "Work before play."

With that said, Chaor pushed Kaz back into bed and ruffled his red hair. Takinom dropped down from the rafters and throw the schoolbag on the bed.

"Aww, come on! Do I have to?" Kaz pouted.

"The sooner you get it done, the sooner you can go scanning," Takinom countered, closing the door after her mate. Kaz looked astonished at the closed door, then to H'earring.

"Since when did they start channeling my parents?" he asked. H'earring just shrugged.

Intress was watching Tom very closely as he did his schoolwork. When he woke up, the teenager was greeted by the sight of Intress sitting cross legged on the bed with an Earth Science textbook in her lap. He had panicked and tried to take the book away from her. A quick argument and wrestling match later, and Tom was grudgingly doing his work as long as Intress was in the room to make sure he didn't sneak off. She had the Earth Science book in her lap still while Tom worked on his math. When Maxxor entered the chambers, he was astonished to see the two so absorbed in their activities.

"Intress," he called out. Intress looked up from the chapter she was reading. Tom looked up as well. Maxxor strode over to the bed and sighed heavily.

"The source of the humans' collapse came from the Arsenal. Apparently, Bodal was trying to fix the machine that the Danians were trying to take over the day we made the alliance," he explained. "The machine malfunctioned and the humans' Earth selves merged with their Chaotic selves."

"So, that's why we all fainted?" Tom asked cautiously. Maxxor nodded sagely.

"There's something you're not telling us, Maxxor," Intress scolded. "What is it?"

Another heavy sigh erupted from Maxxor. "There are two portals, one that possibly leads to where you play your games, Tom." Tom nodded. "And another one, well, we're not completely sure where it leads. We're sure that it leads to Earth, but not _where_ on Earth."

Tom paled under his olive skin. That left many possibilities running through his mind, and many of them _not good_.

Vinta just stared. Peyton was still asleep, but he was mumbling in his sleep and clutching a pillow in his arms. It looked uncomfortable, and Vinta longed to correct it. But Enre-Hep's instructions were clear. Sleep for a couple hours, then wake up the players and tell them the Tribal Alliance plans. Vinta looked at Peyton's watch again and decided that enough was enough. He was going to wake up Peyton!

"Peyton, wake up. Wake up, Peyton!" He shook the Chaotic player's shoulder, but all Peyton did was let go of the pillow. Vinta frowned. Then he tried everything that he could do on his own: take the blanket away, yell, and even pour water on Peyton! Nothing worked.

Vinta scowled. This meant _war!_

Quickly, he left his home to get back-up. Fortunately, Sobjtek, Siado, and Tiaane were waiting just a couple homes down from his.

"Sobjtek!" Vinta called. "I need your help." The trio went with Vinta into his home and where Peyton was sleeping.

"Okay, on the count of three, we flip the bed," Vinta explained after the laughter over Peyton's sleeping pose subsided. The four Mipedians grabbed an edge of the bed and Vinta began the countdown.

"One…two…THREE!" The bed was over turned, and Peyton went with it with a yelp. Vinta immediately went around the mess to see if the Chaotic player was all right.

"What happened?" Peyton shouted, sitting straight up, covers barely allowing him to move. Vinta took one look and just began to laugh. Tiaane, Sobjtek, and Siado joined him as Peyton struggled out of the blankets. As soon as Peyton was out from his entrapment, his face gained its customary grin.

"Hey, Vinta!" the human said. A frown flinted across Peyton's face a second later, and he began to pat himself down. "Uh, where's my scanner?"

Siado smirked. "It's confiscated, by order of Prince Mudeenu and the rest of the Tribal Alliance. You'll get it back when your schoolwork is done."

Peyton looked shocked. "How did you know about my homework? And how come you guys are _acting like parents?_"

"Chaor and Takinom told us about your 'schoolwork' after Kaz told them," Sobjtek answered with a small grin.

"And some of us have been parents before," Tiaane added. Peyton's face fell.

"Aww, man!" Siado chuckled.

"Hurry up and get that work done so we can head to Kiru City and meet up with the rest of the Alliance," Vinta said and the Mipedians left the human with his backpack.

Sarah wasn't sure how she got into Wamma's nest, but she did know that Lore was going to be in a _world_ of pain for waking her up for a simple _physical_ that could have been done _later! _

"Lore, seriously, I am about to feed you a knuckle sandwich if you don't stop!" she growled, trying to free her fist. Lore ignored her, completely used to the irritated threats.

"Wamma, you better still be sitting on her," Lore simply said. The fat Danian saluted the muge with a grin. Sarah scowled from her position.

"Wamma, you're squishing me!" she exclaimed as Lore checked her eyes. Wamma shifted a little so that Sarah could have more breathing room. Some other Danians were hanging around and laughing. Sarah glared at the heckling insect-Creatures.

"All right, Sarah. Everything looks like it's functioning normally. Wamma, let her up as soon as I'm gone," Lore joked. Wamma chuckled as Sarah pouted.

"You are all very horrible," she simply stated. As soon as Lore left, Wamma let Sarah up. That didn't mean that she didn't try to go after Lore, however. The group of Danians watching Sarah's escape attempts left and Tassanil, a red brown Danian noble with long white hair, took their place. He watch with a raised brow as Sarah tried to wrestle Wamma in revenge for sitting on her.

"Come on, Sarah! You weren't staying still! And Lore had his orders straight from Odu-Bathax!" Wamma cried, laughter laced in his voice.

"I don't _care_, Wamma! You don't _sit_ on anyone!" Sarah managed to keep Wamma pinned for a couple of seconds before the Danian escaped. Tassanil frowned and pulled Sarah off of Wamma.

"Quit bickering with Wamma and get your work done," the noble said, passing Sarah's bag to her. He left the room with Sarah growling at him. With a huff, Sarah sat Indian style and pulled a textbook and notebook out. Opening the two books, she glanced at the page. Then she looked at Wamma.

"Do you understand proofs?" she asked. Wamma looked at the girl player confused.

"What are 'proofs'?" he asked. Sarah sighed.

"Homework mixed with Creatures," she muttered. "This will not end well."

On Earth, a man about thirty stood at the portal mouth, located on a military base. Tall with olive skin and dark brown almost black hair, his stance was straight and proud. His face was wary of the forest in the portal entrance, and his earth brown eyes darted from tree to tree lining the trail into the world beyond. Burly arms and legs boasted of his strength and the 0.9mm handgun at his right thigh made him feel safe. His uniform said that he was an US Marine Captain and the shadows under his eyes shouted that he was running on adrenaline and coffee.

"Majors," a voice commanded, large and deep. "Majors" turned to the visiting general and saluted sharply.

"Sir," the man replied.

"At ease. Get some sleep, let the science boys handle this. More of their area, you know?" the general ordered. Majors sighed.

"Permission to speak, sir?"

"Granted."

"I can't sleep, General. My little brother is missing, and it may be the fact that I haven't slept in awhile, but I think that portal is the reason he and his best buddy are missing. The entire family is on full alert and my madre is going nuts," he explained. The general nodded.

"How old is your brother?" he asked. Majors sighed. "Tom is only fourteen, sir. The same goes for Kaz."

The general nodded gravely and clapped the captain's back friendly.

"Again, get some rest," the general said and walked away.

Majors stared at the portal a little bit longer when he noticed movement near the trail. Frowning, he took a step closer to the portal. Squinting, he could barely see an equine shape against the setting sun of his world. Fishing out his cell phone, he zoomed in on the shape and snapped a picture. He had just put the phone away when his baby sister of twenty-nine found him.

"Diego Bruno Majors! What do you think you're going?" she shouted in Italian, her dirty blonde hair blowing in the wind.

"Shut the hell up, Anamaria. I'm thinking," he replied smoothly back in Italian. "I'm in no mood for your attitude."

"Oh really? How about Mama's attitude? Are you in the mood for that?" Anamaria shot back. Then her own olive face softened with its sapphire blue eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried, that's all."

Diego grabbed his sister in a hug, her face buried in his muscular chest. He squeezed, knowing his sister was physically strong and fully capable of hurting him.

"We all are worried," he simply said.

Then he let her go and the two began to walk back to the mess hall. Just before they entered, Diego looked back at the portal and whispered, "Essere sicuri, fratellio."

Then he entered the mess hall, the words heavy in the air.

_Be safe, baby brother_.

**_A/N: What do you think? Enjoy it?_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: And Ch 3 is rolled out of the woodwork! I don't own anything! If I did, I would be able to go to college._**

Meet the Family Ch 3

It had been two days since the "Great Human Collapse," as Frafdo oh-so-charmingly called it. The humans who had schoolwork got it done within a half a day and the other half day was filled with worry for both Creatures and humans. Maxxor just about had a heart attack when Tom had a dizzy attack as soon as he stepped outside. When Tom came to, the first thing that Maxxor did was check him all over for any ailments. Other Creatures had reported the same situation and that calmed the Overworld leader a bit, but not enough for him to take any chances.

It turned out that the humans' senses were now sharper than ever, and the cities had many scents that overwhelmed the humans and caused the dizzy spells. Of course, it didn't compare to Tom freaking out when the full situation of "mergence of Earth and Chaotic selves" truly dawned onto him. It took Maxxor and Intress both an hour to calm him down.

Besides the dizzying spells, Tom seemed calm considering that he was stuck in Perim. He immediately went outside to burn off some energy. Of course, the Tribal Alliance had met the next day and he hadn't seen the boy all day. Chaor reported that Kaz was with H'earring near Fear Valley. Odu-Bathax claimed that Sarah was with Wamma and some other Danians. Maxxor had a feeling that Odu-Bathax had no clue what Sarah was capable of when she was angry. Prince Mudeenu reported the Peyton was with Sobjtek and Vinta in the Mipediam Oasis.

Maxxor frowned. He hadn't seen Tom for the past couple of nights. Intress had taken a squad of the Alliance to the Pouril Forest to see the portal. So he had been alone in his castle for the past couple of nights, which had been unusual. Sometimes when Tom visited and fell asleep in the castle, Maxxor would take him to his chambers and do work there while Tom slept. Intress often joined them and the two adults would quietly talk about their day.

Maxxor was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice Tangath Toborn walking into his study. The lion man grinned at his leader's frown.

"You know, your boy has been in the Arsenal for two days and a night. I half expected him to be here with you," Tangath said. Maxxor looked up from his desk.

"Tom's been in the Arsenal?" Maxxor clarified. Tangath nodded, and his grin started to fade.

"For two days and a night?" Another nod answered his growl. Maxxor growled again and got up from his desk. Grin gone, Tangath followed his leader.

"What's with Tom?" Tangath called as Maxxor rushed down the halls of his castle.

"Guilt!"

Intress frowned at Bodal. The short green Battlegear keeper was going on how hard Tom was working. She had returned from scouting the portal when she had heard that Tom was still in the Arsenal. Upon hearing the news, she sent her squad to clean up and headed to the Arsenal.

Where she was now, getting her ears jabbered off by Bodal. Finally, Intress had enough.

"Listen, Bodal! I just want to know if Tom had eaten in awhile, that's all," she said. Bodal looked confused for a couple of seconds, then he called over his shoulder, "Olkiex! Has Tom eaten anything?"

"No," was the answer. Intress groaned and face palmed at the answer. She sighed.

"I was hoping for the guilt to come later," she said. Then she smirked. "Then again, he is a true Overworlder."

Intress brushed past Bodal and into the main Arsenal hall, stocked full of Battlegear. It didn't take long for her to find the Italian-American boy of theirs. He was doing inventory of the Aqua Shields. Intress shook her head at the sight of the tired eyed and messy haired Tom as he continued with the Aqua Shields.

"Tom," she softly called out. Tom whirred around to see Intress standing by the Torrent Krinths. He gave her a weary smile before saying, "Oh, hey Intress. Didn't see you there."

The tiger woman Creature snorted. "I would say so. Do you know how long you've been in here?"

At this, Tom paused and looked out of the closest window to see the afternoon sun. "Um, all day?"

"Try two days," a deep commanding voice said behind Tom. The boy spun around to see his favorite Creature looking quite sternly at him. Maxxor continued to frown as Tom adopted the human "deer in the headlights" look. Whatever a deer was.

"Two days?" Tom gulped. Intress rolled her eyes and marched up behind Tom and placed her hand on his shoulder. She had a feeling what the problem was.

"Tom," she said. Tom looked up to her kind face.

"It's not your fault," Intress quietly said. Maxxor came behind the human and placed his own hand on the other shoulder. She glanced at her mate's face. "It's not really anyone's fault."

"Your mother will understand," Maxxor picked up, understanding what Intress going for. "She'll be worried, yes. But you'll be _alive_, and that's all that matters to her."

Tom buried his head into Maxxor's chest and nodded. He knew what they were going for, but _still_. His mother was almost thirty six when she had him, and with a teenage fifteen year old daughter and no father, dues became dear. Tom didn't even know what happened to his father. All his mother said about him when Tom asked was that his father was a good man and that he acted much like him. This disappearing act would scare her to bits for sure.

Intress patted his back as Maxxor seemed content with Tom's face in his chest. Of course, Tom's stomach chose the worst time to let out an audible growl. Intress snickered.

"Well, at least a _part_ of you agrees with us," she continued to snicker. Maxxor huffed a laugh of his own as Tom blushed a brilliant red.

"Eat and then come up to the castle. The Tribal Alliance wants you and the rest of the players to write letters to your families, seeing as your other devices don't work," the large green Creature ordered, taking the inventory from the boy's hand. Tom winced, remembering how his cell phone made a terrible screeching when he tried to call his family. "Your friends should be here shortly to write as well."

Tom nodded smiling and left the two Creatures. Maxxor let out a deep breath and turned to Intress.

"Fast thinking, Intress," he complemented.

"I know," she said. "It was the second thought that came through my mind when they first collapsed at Mount Pillar."

_(During the Arsenal Talk)_

Kaz was jostled around in the Dread Tread. He didn't mind, however; he was quite used to the treatment of Underworlders and their gear. They were rough and tumble, ready for mostly anything. He doubted that no amount of preparation will prepare them for Tom's mother, or his own mother. She could be a wildfire when she wanted. His dad was the one who had to hold her back when she was about to hit someone.

When Kaz first entered the Dread Tread, H'earring was with him, looking concerned. The other Underworlders in the vehicle, Agitos, Swassa, Narfall, and Rothar immediately noticed that Kaz was a little scrawnier than before. He at the very least looked shallower than before. H'earring was as plump as a tick. Agitos sighed as Swassa drove the Dread Tread up to the Overworld.

"Oh, dear," the dragon Creature smirked. "Someone needs the 'talk.'" Swassa just rolled her eyes as Kaz turned an interesting shade of tomato red, his brain not up to speed without food. Rothar and Narfall snickered at Kaz's expression. They knew what he was talking about. H'earring just fainted at Agitos's sentence.

"Agitos, I've all ready had the 'talk' with my dad, I don't need it from you too!" Kaz protested. Agitos just waved it off.

"Not that kind of talk, child! The talk of guilt, have you had it before?" Kaz shook his head. "Well, it's about time you had it."

Agitos settled himself against the wall and began. "There are times where one knows when he or she knows that they are in the wrong, and they must right the wrong. And then there are the times where one thinks that they are in the wrong when they did nothing to think of such a thing. The Creature, or in your case human, begins to inflict pain on himself or herself, starving, or worse. It usually ends when another gives a talking to, like what I'm doing with you now. Do you understand?"

"Sort of," Kaz admitted. Rothar rolled his eyes and shook his great bull head.

"Kid," the minotaur started, slinging an arm around the red head, "what Agitos is saying is this simple phrase. This is not your fault, and get your butt eatin' again!"

Narfall revealed a large fruit, suitable for human consumption, and tossed it to Kaz. Kaz felt its soft fuzz, much like a peach's, and saw the dark blue strawberry shape. He glanced at Narfall, who nodded with a small smile. Kaz took a large bite, the juices coming out as a mixture of purple grapes and raspberries and the flesh of an apple. He chewed, feeling the texture and thick juice in his mouth and on his tongue. He smirked as he swallowed.

"This is good," Kaz stated, taking another bite. Swassa whistled.

"Narfall, you have another cavern fruit?" she asked, and the Elementalist brought out three more and tossed them to the other passengers. Poor H'earring was still out cold.

The Dread Tread finally broke into Overworld territory and rumbled on to Kiru City. More Dread Treads joined them, along with Levitaars, Mowercycles, and other vehicles containing more humans and Creatures alike. Finally, as H'earring came to, the large group entered Kiru City.

When Kaz stepped off the Dread Tread, the first thing he heard was "KAZZERS!"

Kaz was lifted up into the air by a pair of arms belonging to one PeytonicMaster. After five seconds, the ground met his sneakers again. Whirling around, Kaz came face to chest with Peyton. The brown haired teen had his trademark grin plastered on his face as Mipedians thronged around, mixing with the Underworlders. Kaz had a feeling that Peyton also had the guilt talk like he did. Danians were just exiting their vehicles and the players were greeting each other. Kaz noticed Sarah marching over and grinned. Peyton grinned as well. When the blonde girl reached the two boys, Kaz whistled.

"Well, Sarah," he said somberly, then broke into a massive smirk. "Did you terrorize the Danians while we were away?" Peyton laughed as Sarah huffed.

"For your information, I did not. A Battlemaster gave me a little talk and I did my homework," Sarah clarified. Kaz raised an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes and continued, "The talk was about the past couple of days, all right. Satisfied?"

The two boys nodded.

"Satisfied," confirmed Peyton as they were escorted to Maxxor's palace. Other players were escorted to various homes and eateries. Sarah, Kaz, and Peyton were led through a series of corridors which led to a massive room filled with desks, parchment, quills and ink. Tom was already there, a quill in hand and Intress at his elbow. Maxxor wasn't to be seen. Sarah grinned.

"Dare I ask who are writing too?" she asked, taking a seat of her own. Kaz and Peyton took seats as well, just as Chaor, Maxxor, Sobjtek, and Odu-Bathax entered the room. Tom glanced up and simply said, "My brother."

Kaz sighed and became limp in his chair. "Thank goodness. I thought you were going to write to your sister."

Tom's head shot up and gave Kaz an incredulous look.

"Do I look _suicidal_?" he asked his best friend. Kaz snickered as Intress and the rest of the Creatures became concerned. "Just checking."

Maxxor arched a brow and asked, "Dare I ask why writing to your sister 'suicidal', Tom?"

"Uh, yeah, bro. I was kinda wonderin' that myself," Peyton added. Tom snorted.

"My sister, Anamaria, has my mom's temper, only more volatile," the black haired boy explained.

"Yeah, once when we were like six," Kaz picked up, grabbing his own parchment and quill and inkpot, "we spent the night over at Anamaria's new place because she had just finished college and we were helping her move in. Tom and I made a sign and posted it on her front door when she wasn't looking."

"The next day, her next door neighbor, a nice dude, knocked on the door. She opened the door, the dude introduced himself as a 'Kevin Renth', and asked if the sign was true," Tom continued with a giggle. "'Course, Ana didn't know about the sign and asked the classic question."

"'What sign?'" guessed Sarah as she and Peyton grabbed their writing tools to begin their letters.

"Yep!" Kaz confirmed. Most of the Creatures were chuckling. H'earring asked in his scratchy voice, "What the sign even _say?_"

Tom and Kaz laughed uncontrollably. Finally, Tom answered, "Warning! Explosive personality. Enter at own risk."

At that, everyone groaned good-naturedly. Kaz continued to laugh. "I didn't know that she could throw an iron that far until then!"

"Thank the heavens we were near the back door!" Tom agreed. "If we were near the basement, we would've had more bruises that what we had."

"Tough, vicious, and has a tendency to overact and be overprotective. She does have her weakness, though," Kaz admitted.

"What's her weakness?" Takinom asked curiously.

"Heights. She hates them. Just looking at a ladder makes her weak in the knees," Kaz grinned.

"Don't forget the cold. She hates that too," Tom added. He looked at Maxxor with hopeful eyes. "Can we meet the welcoming committee at Ravanauh Ridge?"

Maxxor looked at Tom's expression and in a no-nonsense tone said one word. "No."

Tom pouted and muttered, "Curses."

Everyone shook their head at the two silly boys and returned to their writing. Finally, Intress asked, "What about your brother? I've heard about Diego. What is he like?"

Tom huffed a little laugh. "Diego is…calmer than Anamaria. _Way_ calmer. He can see a situation and figure out a solution fast without losing his head. He's no pacifist, though. Joined the Marines when he was eighteen and climbed the ranks to captain. Diego worries about us as well."

Kaz nodded. "When my parents moved in next to Tom's mom, Diego was doing recruiting duty to be closer to home. He had constant supervision on Tom while his mom and sister went to work and school."

"He requested to be stationed on a base where he can easily go to Ma and me when his training was done," Tom added. Maxxor felt a small stab of jealously over the fact that Diego and Anamaria had Tom for all of their lives while Maxxor only had the boy for a year, but quickly buried it over the comfort that they had helped raise a fine boy. A quick glance at Intress confirmed that she felt the same.

"Yeah, but the big bad Marine still gets the snot beaten out of him when Anamaria gets mad at him for big screw-ups," Kaz stated. He paused, paling and turning a little like when he entered the Dread Tread. "Like she'll do to us if she catches us."

Tom smirked. "Kaz, she can't beat us up. We have a secret weapon."

Kaz deadpanned, "A secret weapon?"

Tom nodded, a twinkle in his eyes. "Il Contratto del Dolore."

The red head brightened at that. "Oh."

The others looked at the two boys curiously. Maxxor knew a little Italian from Tom, so he recognized "contratto" as "contract", but he didn't recognize "dolore."

"So, what are your parents like?" Takinom ventured cautiously. And with that, the humans began to talk other each other, offering a distraction for all as the letters were written, drafted, and sealed.

**_A/N: You'll find out what "Il Contratto del Dolore" is shortly. In the meantime, please review. Think of the future chapters._**


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: This really did NOT want to be written. But I provaled over it! Y'all know the rules, I don't own anything. I'd be rich if I did._**

Meet the Family Ch 4

Diego stared at the strange beings that came through the portal. Four groups of three, each of them were carrying a bag full of…something. No one had been brave enough to even break open the bags, though they had been relatively light despite the bulk. This lead to suspicion on the base's part and took the bags to be scanned. The belts and wrist gizmos that were attached to each other were taken away and went with the bags. That didn't stop Diego from being curious about their impromptu "guests."

The first group of three was led by a tawny lion man with an armored arm, legs and shoulder. The other two were a white furred, antlered man with tattoos on his right arm and eye and a giant pig man looking like an Australian outback ranger. They looked at the black machine guns pointed at them with distain.

The two groups that came after them consisted of slightly-taller-than-human sized lizards and ants. The lizards followed an old alligator lizard while the ants' momma duck was a two legged red ant with four arms, grey hair, and a red goatee. The other two lizards were both sandy yellow, but one had fins by his ears and the other had spiked wrist guards. The ants looked the same, but one was grey and old and the other was jet black with red hair. Diego didn't think that it was possible for insects to have hair.

The last group came a little later than the others, a hunched over blue dragon with yellow eyes in front and followed by a large fat green ogre with a vest and a four armed man, yellow green skinned and only arm having an _actual_ hand. They viewed the weapons with amusement and chatted amiably among each other and the other three groups.

Anamaria appeared at Diego's elbow and growled. "I don't like them. I don't like them at all."

Diego shrugged and said hopefully, "They speak English. Maybe they're friendly."

Anamaria watched as the white furred man yawned and leaned against a nearby tree, presumably to take a nap. The others in his group nudged him upright and he threw them what could only be described as a scowl. She shook her head. "I still don't like them."

Her brother gave her a look. "Give them a chance. They just arrived and probably have no clue about our customs, weapons, or _anything_," Diego chided. Then he made up his mind. "I'm going to take them to the mess hall. Get them something to eat, make them feel welcome."

Anamaria looked at him like he'd lost his mind as he reached for his cell phone.

"No! Are you crazy? They'll kill us!" she hissed franticly in Italian. "They'll kill us all and take our heads to their leaders!"

"Colonel Smith? It's Majors. It's about the visitors. Yes, I know that the bags haven't completely cleared yet but I was thinking that it would be a better welcome than what we have now. No, sir, my sister didn't give me a concussion. I was thinking the mess hall, sir. Plenty of men there to keep an eye on them so they can't get into much trouble. Yes, sir, thank you, sir," Diego talked into the phone. Anamaria glared at her older brother.

"He had better have said 'no'," she snarled. Diego looked grim for all of five seconds before a smug grin broke out and he strode over to the beings. Anamaria stood there, shocked, before her scowl returned and stomped away him. "If I don't give you a concussion, then Mama will!"

Diego just rolled his eyes and motioned for the guards to bring the groups. One guard pointing his gun at the old ant asked, "Where too, Captain Majors?"

"The mess hall. Colonel's order by my request," the captain answered. The guards glanced at each other, one shrugged, and the rest began to push the guests to the mess hall. Diego stopped the lion man as the guards escorted the beast passed him. Human and beast scanned each other up and down, carefully assessing everything from muscle mass to hairstyle to whisker.

"You look familiar," Diego stated, running a hand through his spiky short dark brown hair. "I've seen your face before, I just can't place where."

The lion searched as well, then smirked. "At least I have a face to place a name."

Then he went past as Diego frowned in confusion, trying to make out what the being meant.

...

"_This can't be the real world now!  
I don't believe it when I can't see the truth  
Welcome to the real world now!  
When all our carried in now just to poison you!"_

Nebres flinched at the loud human music blaring into the place called the "mess hall." The human captain wasn't prepared for it either; he winced at the wild screeching as well. Pausing, the captain looked around before moving to a free table. Benches served as seats, which also served a problem to Ekuud.

"Jones! Pass me that chair, will ya? Come on, kiddies! We have guests," the captain barked out and a flurry of movement began, ending with all occupants facing their table and an extra chair pressed against a bench for Ekuud. The music was turned down and everyone began to whisper. Ekuud looked over the impromptu Danian resting chair, then tentatively sat on it.

It held, and by the look on Ekuud's face, Nebres could only guess that he was impressed. The Battlemaster nodded slowly and the humans grinned.

"Seat down, please," the captain requested politely. Tangath allowed Owis and Nebres to go first before sitting down himself. Agitos, Dardemus, and Khybon had a bit of shuffling to do before taking their own seats. Lore and Raznus took up on either side of Ekuud while Ario let Qwun and Zhade sit first, like Tangath did. Once the Tribal representatives had seated themselves did the captain sit down and fold his hands.

"I am Diego Majors, Captain of the United States Marines," the human began. Nebres watched as Tangath nodded solemnly.

"I am Tangath Toborn. This is Nebres," Nebres nodded his head as Tangath introduced him, "and this is Owis."

"Hi!" Owis waved cheerfully, his pointed ears twitching the only thing betraying his nervousness.

Ario began next. "Ario. These are Qwun and Zhade." Both Mipedians nodded as well when they were introduced.

Ekuud picked up on the introductions. "Ekuud. This is Ambassador Raznus and this is Lore." Raznus gave a small wave while Lore, looking bored, just nodded as well. The captain raised an eyebrow and whistled. "Ambassador? Impressive."

Agitos finished up. "I am Agitos. Khybon and Dardemus are my companions." Dardemus grinned a toothy grin, showing off his sharp teeth. Khybon nodded like most of the Creatures introduced.

"I apologize about the welcome, but we're on high alert now," Majors started again.

"Because your children are missing." Ario made his statement sound like a question. All human eyes snapped toward him, most of them smoldering, some inquisitive.

"You know?" a woman with pale skin and platinum blonde hair in a blue camouflage uniform whispered. "You have _our children?"_

Nebres began to feel uneasy as Agitos nodded just as uneasy. "Yes, they have been visiting us for a long time now."

The dragon Creature chuckled uneasily. "They probably know Perim better than us, no doubt."

An unholy shriek tore through the air as the woman flew at Nebres, trying to reach his throat. Tangath barely had time to pull him back as the woman was caught by a couple of men.

"Thieves! _Thieves!_ You steal our children like they are fruit on a branch! They are not _yours_ to take!" she screamed. _"You stole my daughter from me!"_

Nebres took deep breathes as the woman was carried away by the captain and two others, one of which was another woman. _Cothica, please don't tell me that all the mothers will act like that!_ he thought. _Well, most of them, at least! _

Owis looked at the rest of the soldiers as they watched as Captain Majors talked in a hushed whisper to the enrage woman.

"It was an accident," Owis muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear. Raznus picked up on the Overworlder's thoughts.

"One of our more…massive…Battlegear had several cases of malfunctions. One of the gear keepers was attempting to fix it, but it malfunctioned again."

"Sending your children's Earth selves to us," finished Lore. There was silence after the explanation. The humans were staring at them like they suddenly grew extra appendages, Khybon excluded.

Captain Majors took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, the brown eyes seemed thoughtful.

"Have you eaten yet?" came the erupt question. The Creatures looked at each other shocked. Was that it? Did the adults know and were just testing them?

The captain's answer came from Qwun's stomach. Qwun blushed bright red while Majors smiled gently.

"Good. We can talk about the kids' 'Earth selves' over lunch. Be right back. Don't let Johnson attack them again," he ordered his men before disappearing through a door where meat cooking over a flame emerged. Nebres had to admit, it did smell pretty good. He looked toward Tangath, who shrugged. When the captain entered, he was carrying several trays of looked to be like bowls of thick creamy stew with noodles.

Quickly, the Tribal representatives rised up to help…only to be seated again by the men. Nebres looked curiously at the soldiers.

"You are our guests. It's our custom to serve the guests first before serving ourselves," a dark man explained, his skin as black as smoke and his hair wiry. Then he grinned, showing off white teeth. "Be grateful you faced Johnson rather Cap's sister. Now _there's_ a devil."

Raznus perked at the statement. "Sister?"

The dark man jerked his head to the glowering woman with ice blue eyes and dirty blonde hair. They all just stared at her, perplexed at the similarities and vast differences. She had his nose and general shape of his face, but that was it. How can the captain call her his sister?

"She's related to the captain?" Lore said, astonished. The dark man laughed.

"Believe it or not, they are. She takes more after her father than her mother, though she has her mother's temper. We would've had trouble getting her off of you. Name's Richard Smith," he introduced, holding out his hand. Nebres shook it, surprising him with his firm grip.

"Let me guess, her name's Anamaria?" Dardemus shrewdly said. Again, the humans stared.

"Knock it off, guys. Quit staring," Majors reprimanded, apparently not hearing Dardemus and setting the trays down and passed out the bowls. Steam wafted off the cubes of meat, and the sauce was a red pink shade. Pitchers of water, ice water, and hot water were placed along the table with cups, and packets of tea leaves were placed next to the hot water. Silverware appeared next to the hot bowls. Another soldier, black haired and brown skinned, smirked.

"Nothing for us?"

Majors gave her a look that said "What do you think?" She laughed.

"I'll get my own bowl. By the way," she turned to the Creatures, "I'm Maya Gomtez."

With that, she turned and marched to the kitchen and the rest of the soldiers followed. The captain shook his head and took his seat, grabbing his own meal from a tray. The only ones left in the room were the Creatures, Anamaria, Johnson, and the captain.

Tangath took a deep breath. "Captain…"

The captain raised his hand. "If we're going to have lunch together, we might as well use our names."

Tangath nodded, stabbing a piece of meat. "_Diego_, you want to know how there is an 'Earth self' in the children who went missing. Each player gets a code, which when entered, provides a second self that cannot truly be harmed. This second self can still be killed, but not the first self. The second self is essentially memories that they obtain by being with us."

With that, Tangath ate the meat. Nebres and the other Creatures watched as Tangath carefully felt the texture and juiciness of the meat and the tanginess of the sauce. At last, he nodded.

"This is good. What is it?" the Overworld general asked. With praise said, the rest of the representatives dug into the strange stew.

"Beef stroganoff," answered Maya as she returned with her bowl.

"What I want to know is how you," Anamaria appeared growling behind Dardemus, startling everyone, "know _my name_."

Dardemus grinned, showing off his teeth again. "I've heard of your brother."

Immediately, the angry woman did a 180 into a concerned sister.

"Tom? You know him? How? When? Where?" she asked in rapid succession. Dardemus shook his head.

"I've heard of him. From what I understand," he boldly said, glancing at the Overworlders, "he's Maxxor's boy."

Anamaria seemed to seize up in shock. Shallow breathes were taken, and it took a whack on the back by Richard to get her breathing normally.

"_Maxxor's boy?_" she screeched. Tangath, Nebres, and Owis nodded, and Agitos snarled at Dardemus. "Thank you for starting up trouble!"

Diego looked between the Underworlders, the Overworlders, and his little sister, who looked like she was going to rip someone's head off. Finishing up his bite, he risked asking, "What do you mean, 'Maxxor's boy'? Who is Maxxor?"

Nebres couldn't help but swell with pride over his leader. "He's the greatest Overworlder hero ever. Chaor is the Underworlder's hero," he added for good measure.

Diego still had a dead expression, clearly having no clue about the game.

"Sweetheart, I know that you think you're making sense, but really, you're _not_," Maya said, taking another stab of her stroganoff. Nebres, _not pouting_, growled at the Hispanic woman.

_**SLAM!**_

Every head turned to the doors as a secretary ran after…a moving pile of paper? Qwun and Zhade began to laugh when the paper pile attacked Diego with a squeal of delight, knocking him off of the bench. Then it began to bounce up and down on his stomach, chanting "Diego, Diego, DIEGO, _Diego!_"

Ario finally took pity on the poor captain and lifted from the paper pile a little girl around six. Qwun and Zhade laughed all the harder and even the other Creatures allowed a little chuckle to escape. Diego groaned in pain from the little footprints that had danced on his gut, sitting up slowly. Once he was sitting back on the bench, Ario set the girl down gently and took his seat again with his giggling companions. The captain glared at the beaming child and was about to scold her when the secretary wailed.

"Captain Majors, she," pointing to the giggling girl, still clutching some of the papers, "just barged right in the check point room, nosed right into four bags, and grabbed whatever was inside!"

Richard snorted in his bowl in annoyance of the secretary. Maya raised a brow as the rest of the soldiers grumbled and returned to their meal, used to the secretary's rants of insubordination. The girl, olive skinned and black haired like Tom but with brown eyes, was still clutching several papers to herself and bouncing up and down like a Mexican jumping bean, or rather, an _Italian_ jumping bean. Diego and his soldiers had a "We're used to this" expression on his face while the Creatures just stared at the hyper child. The secretary continued to go on about the child's actions.

"She's a menace! She shouldn't even be allowed on base!"

Maya rolled her eyes. "Ian?"

"WHAT?" The secretary screeched.

"Shut up," came the tense reply. Ian snapped his fat mouth shut. Diego returned his attention to the girl.

"Talia, what is it?" he asked patiently. "Talia" seemed to bounce even more and squealed, "Letters! They're all LETTERS!"

A pregnant pause captured the mess hall, leaving only chirping birds outside to echo in the halls. Talia continued to jump up and down with a little less energy while pulling out a folded paper sealed in red wax.

"It's true," Qwun spoke up.

"Most of the players were still in Chaotic, but the ones that stayed with us we made write letters," Khybon said.

"This one's for you, from Tommy!" Talia exclaimed, thrusting the letter under Diego's nose. Diego gingerly took the letter while Talia's papers were taken back by Ian. She only kept two others to herself, hugging them to her chest tightly.

"Corporal Hinder, round up some other secretaries, take all the letters in those bags and mail them to their respective families. I'll be in to help you soon," the captain ordered tensely. The secretary nodded and saluted, which the captain returned before running off after saying that the captain better not join or else.

Suddenly, Nebres noticed that Talia kept glaring at Dardemus, her chubby face hard around her button nose.

"Great," she said sullenly. "Where is the boys' bail, Dardemus?"

...

Talia knew all the Creatures sitting in front of her. Tom and Kaz had told her stories about Chaotic, Perim, and their inhabitants. Many of her older family members didn't believe them, but she did. She always did.

Her older cousin cleared her throat and asked, "Uh, Talia? How do you know them?"

Dardemus rolled his eyes. "The boys are not in jail."

Talia snorted. "Dardemus is the warden for the Pits, the Underworld Prison. Kaz told me about him."

"Kaz told you about whom?" Talia whirled around to see Kaz's mother, Marietta Kalinkas, striding over to look at the Creatures.

"Hey, Marietta," Diego called casually over his shoulder, reading Tom's letter. Talia just turned around to scowl at Dardemus again, placing both letters on the table for safekeeping. Poor Dardemus looked like he was about to be attacked by some rabid beast. Agitos perked at the sight of Marietta. He slid out from his spot on the bench and stalked over in his usual style, hunched over and glaring. Talia watched as he examined Marietta carefully up and down. Finally, he nodded.

"She's it." Talia looked confused at the dragon Creature as the others looked at the red head.

"You sure?" Khybon asked, standing as well. Dardemus was about to stand as well. Talia stopped him with a growl. Dardemus gave a half-hearted glare at her, but she didn't care.

"I'm positive. Look at her! He's almost a copy of her." Agitos gestured to Marietta, who looked at him huffily.

"You better be talking about my son," she growled, poking Agitos in the snout. Agitos held his hands in the surrender position. Talia giggled at the adviser of Chaor backing down to a female so fast.

"Your son is Kaz?" Tangath asked rising as well. Marietta nodded, eyes fixed on Agitos.

"Kaz is Chaor's favorite," Dardemus grinned, starting up the conversation from before. A tiny shoe whacked him in the head. Snorting, the ogre turned to have a glaring contest with Talia.

"Well, well. The boys are fine, apparently, and their homework done." Diego looked up from his letter. Talia didn't hear him, still in the glaring contest. "They seem fine."

"They are fine. We know how to take care of our humans," Lore assured him. Talia broke the contest with Dardemus first. She turned to Marietta and snatched up one of the letters.

"Aunt Marietta! This is from Kaz!" Talia happily waved the letter in the air, handing it over to the respective receiver. Marietta grasped the letter with reverent fingers and broke the seal. Quickly, she skimmed most of the letter and twisted to see all of the Underworlders.

"So, Kaz is safe?" Talia looked on nervously as Khybon nodded.

"His homework done?" Dardemus nodded.

"Madame, all Chaotic players are safe and sound. No true ill effects were reported, and most are anxious about their families and their opinions," Raznus politely explained.

"Are you sure she's Kaz's mother? She looks a bit…young to be his mother," Khybon doubted. Talia shook her head, making panicky motions to shut up. Tangath came to her the rescue.

"So, what has Tom told you about us, Talia was it? For one so small, you probably can't guess all of our names by rank," the great lion man challenged. Talia turned to him with a smirk.

"Are you sure?" she challenged back.

"Have at him, Punkinator!" Maya cheered as the soldiers settled in for was going to be a good show.

**_A/N: Here's to hoping that Ch 5 won't be a pain the caboose as this one. Please review! The song used was "Real World" by The All-American Rejects. I was listening to it while writing this._**


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N: This is a bit shorter, but I hope it's still good. I don't own anything!_**

Meet the Family Ch 5

Maxxor was still awake when Tangath Toborn and the representatives returned late that night. He was standing on the massive balcony overlooking the entire city when Tangath padded up behind him. The green-skinned Creature took in the silence of the city and the crisp night air before speaking.

"How did it go?" he asked quietly. Tangath sighed just as quietly, grinning tiredly.

"Well, we first arrived at a military base after we entered the portal, if the uniforms and Battlegear had anything to go by. Then we were guarded for awhile until we were order to the humans' mess hall," Tangath began. Maxxor nodded, beginning to walk back into his castle, Tangath following and talking at the same time. "Introductions were made, quite politely, I might I add. The captain had apologized for the security guards, and Ario had said that it was understandable because of the kids."

Here the lion Creature turned grim. "A woman, a mother, misunderstood our words when we were explaining how we know the Players. She attacked Nebres, and it took the captain and two men to drag her off. Owis and Raznus had explained how the players were transported here."

Tangath frowned at the humans' reactions to the news. "They apparently didn't _know_ about their children's Chaotic selves. I had to explain the concept to them."

"Did they see the letters?" Maxxor wanted to know. Tangath nodded. "After a certain boy of ours cousin came banging into the meeting, a corporal screeching after her."

Tangath gave a deep chuckle, remembering how hyper the little girl. Maxxor raised a brow. "Tom's cousin is energetic?"

"Very much so. It took a chase, a staring contest with Dardemus, and a quiz from me to get her wind down a bit." Tangath said. They reached Maxxor's study and went into the room to bask in the fire within. Tangath continued, "She's very young, but being around Tom might have had an influence on her."

"Really?" Maxxor asked, curious.

"She threw a shoe at Dardemus when he was being rude," came the simple explanation. Maxxor chuckled.

"So overall, it was a good relations visit with the adults?"

"Good nothing. It was great," Tangath clarified. "We meet two others of Tom's family."

That perked Maxxor to attention. "Really? Who?"

"His older brother and sister. Kaz's mother was there as well, though she arrived later."

"Tom's own mother wasn't there?"

"No, apparently she's still in an 'apocalyptic rage' over the fact that Tom was missing and there were no clues to where he was," Tangath said, remembering what was said after Talia's quiz. The study door opened to a staggering Intress, eyes tired and tail limp. Immediately, she plopped in Maxxor's lap, closed her eyes, and was instantly asleep. Tangath looked at the sleeping tigress Creature with surprise while Maxxor just smoothed her fiery red hair down and allowed her to snuggle closer to him.

"Dare I ask how everyone else's day went?" the lion Creature asked quietly, mindful of Intress. Maxxor couldn't help it; he shook in quiet laughter at the question.

"We tried your game when the Tribal Alliance came together for the first time. With the blindfolds and rope? It didn't really work out as planned. The humans already had a game like it, but they used fellow humans in various positions to create an obstacle course of sorts," Maxxor explained quietly. "A human was on each end of the course, one blindfolded and the other able to see. The 'seeing' human called out instructions to the blindfolded human to guide them through the course."

"Did it work?" Tangath asked excitedly, though still quiet. Perhaps he could use this game to train more warriors to unite their strengths with each other.

"Yes, and no," Maxxor said. Tangath looked at his leader confused. "The humans did learn teamwork, but there was a lot of giggling and laughing in the process. They didn't take it very seriously, but some of the Creatures didn't either."

"Some Creatures?" Tangath repeated curiously.

"The kids practically dragged Venta, Rothar, Frafdo, even Odu-Bathax, and some others into their game. Poor Frafdo looked like he was about to go to his doom!" Maxxor explained, lightly laughing.

"How did they know the game?"

"A kid that did drama mentioned it when we introduced your game. He said that it was similar to the game he played when his class's play was finished."

"Anything else?" Tangath asked.

"Races, Chaotic matches, some other games, the usual. They just had so much _energy _to burn off," Maxxor whispered.

"Bet you're grateful the kids are sleeping like logs, right?" Tangath teased.

"Well, some of the men took the younger kids home with them, so I'm glad for that," Maxxor chuckled.

"Pity them?"

"A little," Maxxor admitted. He stretched his arms over his head and stood, picking up Intress.

"Come. Tomorrow is another busy day for all of us," Maxxor told his friend and brother. Tangath stood and they both left the study.

…

Prince Mudeenu was watching his own Creatures and players sleep when Ario reported the human visit to him. Mudeenu was silent for a few seconds before turning to Ario.

"You said that their Battlegear mainly consisted of black metal sticks?" he asked quietly. Ario nodded.

"They kind of looked like our own Cyclances," Qwun supplied, having entered Mudeenu's temporary chambers with Ario.

"They're probably not as dangerous as our Battlegear," Ario confidently declared, though his eyes shifted uneasily at the thought.

"We should still ask the kids what their Battlegear does rather than winging it and having someone injured," Prince Mudeenu said. "Ask them in the morning; waking them in the middle of the night is not the best option in Perim to do."

"Ah, so someone has learned his lesson then?" Ario wickedly teased his prince. Prince Mudeenu frowned at the old Mipedian, hating the memory that roused with the "lesson."

A Mipedian player had fallen asleep inside his castle once and he made the mistake of thinking that he would wake her up and had her move to a different location to sleep. Never had he heard such a verbal abuse! Such an assault! Not even his dirtiest soldiers could match the fury of the snarling female as her rest was disturbed. His _ears_ were _ringing_ from the sheer fury. The Royal Council, all the members staying well behind the Prince, were stunned into submission as the female went back to sleep when she lost enough steam to scream obscenities at them.

This incident was told to several boy players, with the question of the behavior of the girl was common in most females. The humans had laughed when Prince Mudeenu recited some of the words to them. Apparently, they were sailor words.

Prince Mudeenu snorted. "_Everyone_ learned a lesson that day."

"Who wouldn't?" muttered Qwun.

"Who should we ask about human Battlegear?" Ario asked, going back to the original question.

"Someone whose family has military background," Prince Mudeenu immediately declared. Qwun shook his head.

"One of the civilians looked like he was going to take a Battlegear and attack us with it," he mentioned. "I bet anyone can use it, even without special training."

"Just like our own," Mudeenu muttered, beginning to pace in front of a window. "Humans are closer to Creatures than we thought."

Silence filled the chambers as Mudeenu continued his pacing; the soft clicks of his talons reaching the floor was only sound.

"We'll just ask Peyton. He's friends with the brother of the man who was so kind to us," suggested Qwun. Mudeenu stopped his pacing and looked at the Scout, as did Ario. Qwun shifted uneasily at their glazes. Finally, Prince Mudeenu slowly smiled.

"That might just _work_," the prince purred.

…

Odu-Bathax listened to Raznus and Ekuud's reports seriously as they retold all that had happened. He was…somewhat grateful for the distraction. Some of the Danians' teenage humans were still wake and not being quiet as the rest got their own rest. Several times he marched over to the jabbering humans and each time they acted like they didn't know what he was talking about! He was about to give the lot of them Sleep Stings when Raznus and Ekuud showed up.

"Any idea on when the paperwork will go through?" Odu-Bathax whispered when the two Danians finished up. His experience with explorations with Muges had always begun with a large amount of hateful papers that needed approval from first the Council and then the Queen.

Sometimes, no, _most_ of the time the explorations were denied.

Raznus shrugged. "The captain wasn't sure, but he said that he would express mail the work. The urgency alone should be enough. The visiting general was staying at a different fort when we came over."

"If not, he and his team could just contact the 'papernews' and have an article out on the streets!" Ekuud chuckled.

"It's 'newspaper' and in order for there to be an article, there needs to be proof," Raznus reprimanded.

"The portal's enough, right?" Ekuud countered. Odu-Bathax ignored them in favor of the little group that continued to talk. He snuck over to the group of three and just towered over them. It took a good thirty seconds for the humans to realize that their little whispering fest was about to come to an unplanned and unexpected end.

Slowly, three human heads looked up to see the blue armored body of Odu-Bathax diminishing their size to nothing. The great head lowered to their level and snapped quietly as to not wake the others in the room, "If you three don't go to sleep right now, I will _separate_ you lot and treat you like infants. Clear?"

The two males looked at him like he wouldn't do such a thing, but the girl fortunately took him seriously. She nodded rapidly and settled down quickly to almost instantaneously fall asleep. _She must be tired of hearing the boys. Or she just doesn't want to be treated like an infant,_ Odu-Bathax thought. He returned to glaring at the two boys, who had just lied down and _were not_ asleep. He snorted in satisfaction, for now, and returned to Raznus and Ekuud. Ekuud looked his fellow warrior with respect.

"Where were you when it's time to bed down the troops?" he asked incredulously. Odu-Bathax snorted.

"Right next to my post," he countered. He returned his attention to the portal problem. "So, do we have anyway of contracting the humans again when everything goes through?"

Raznus nodded. "Yes, the Overworlder Blazier is there while the Underworld sent Rarran. Siado is there as well and Wamma had to be _ordered _to stay put."

"So in other words the scouts will send us the news?" Odu-Bathax shrewdly concluded.

"Basically, yes," Raznus confirmed just as the two boys began to whisper again. Odu-Bathax scowled at the two and marched over them and grabbed one non-too-gently by the scruff of the neck and carried him across the room to Junda. The Danian Squadleader woke the instant the boy landed in front of him with a **THUMP!** A questioning look to the higher ranking Danian before him and a series of hand signs told him everything he needed to know. Junda quickly placed a hand over the human's mouth and with his other hand pinched the ear to drag him back.

Odu-Bathax went back to the other human male and grabbed him to drag across to the opposite side of the room to Bierk, who had woken up around the same time as Junda. Another boy dropping to the floor, and Bierk had his claws on the teenager and pulling him closer. A swift smack and a yelp later, Bierk settled down with the human underneath him.

Odu-Bathax took in the two horrified teenagers with a smirk. He had treated them like infants.

….

Chaor awaited the end of Agitos's report while keeping a close eye on his mate and half-awake human on his bed. Takinom was tired from all of the activities that the humans had commenced while Agitos and the representatives were talking to the human adults, hence why she wasn't standing at attention as usual. Kaz, on the other hand, was still awake because he was a "night-owl", as he put it.

When Agitos finished, Chaor was thinking of someone else other than the humans under his protection. Takinom sensed his uneasiness.

"What is it, Chaor?" she asked her mate. Chaor looked at her and the somewhat more wake Kaz.

"Has Von Bloot received any word of the portal?" he asked Kaz. Kaz shook his head no.

"Klay and Krystella have been here the whole time, griping. Thank goodness Jystella dragged her twin away before things turned nasty," the boy explained. "And I don't know many players that actually like Von Bloot who would trade information like that for a scan. We don't really know where he is, either."

"Skithia and Krekk are still lurking around somewhere. They can relay the information to Von Bloot wherever he is," Takinom interjected.

"But they won't make a deal, not even for their master. Krekk's too much of a coward to actually make a deal and Skithia's as slippery as Bloot. No sane player will go to them," Kaz countered.

Chaor hummed in approval of both of their reasoning. Agitos piped up as well.

"Von Bloot might not know about the portal, but he can still take a human and torture him or her into speaking."

"But _we_ know how get _away_ from Bloot. All you have to do is make a false promise, stay away for a little while, come back to say that you've found nothing, and port away as fast as you can!" Kaz said with a small smirk.

"Very true, Gothos Tower has received more holes in it when you all showed up," Takinom mused with a small smile. Chaor chuckled as well.

"Von Bloot could be a problem in the future, but not now. Now, we have to deal with the adults that might be coming," Chaor stated. "There are scouts posted at the portal. When the adults are ready, the scouts will contact us and bring them in."

Kaz began to giggle. Agitos swung his head to the giggling human. "And what is so funny?"

"I just imagined what Diego's reaction to all of this! He's going to flip when he sees everything!" Kaz began to cackle.

"I'd be more worried about his sister than anyone else," Agitos replied drily.

"She's that bad?" Chaor asked incredulously. Kaz and Tom had told some horror stories about Anamaria but this might just prove that she's as violent as they claim.

Agitos snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to attack a Creature if they annoyed her enough. Even the mothers would go after a Creature if we cross a line."

"So what we need to is watch our step?" Takinom suggested. Chaor nodded.

"We'll definitely watch our step," he firmly said, just as Kaz finally nodded off at Takinom's shoulder.

…..

_(Two days later)_

Diego could barely contain his grin as he stood in front of his commanding officer, Colonel Regan Smith. The colonel was grinning from ear to ear at the news.

"General Vagent approved of the exploration of the portal and the world beyond!" Diego could barely keep in his excitement. Finally, after five days of worry, he can search for his little brother.

"On a couple of conditions," interjected Smith seriously. "You are to take Kaz's family and your own family with you, no ifs, ands, or buts. Talia can come with for _guidance_ and _information_ only, but if there's any fighting, she stays in one of the Humvees. That goes for all of the civilians."

"Yes sir," Diego nodded sharply, grin gone.

"Secondly, no mass explosive weapons like grenades. Just our handguns and machine guns should do the trick. We're trying to be peaceful, not boogymen."

"Yes, sir. Of course, sir. Tiny won't happy about it, sir, but he'll have to live with it, sir," said Diego, referring to Private First Class Timothy Hither, who was well known throughout the base for his size of his height and explosions and sarcastic remarks.

"He'll have to get over it," Colonel Smith firmly said, wagging a finger at him. "I want your sister to be on her best behavior while we're there too."

Diego laughed. "I'll ask Mama to threaten her with something, sir."

"Very good," Colonel Smith settled into his chair, picking up a stack of folders to hand to Diego. "These are the supplies were going to need. I want your squad ready by 0600 hours tomorrow, family and all."

"Yes, sir." Diego took the folders and tucked them under his arm.

"Dismissed." Colonel Smith saluted and Diego saluted back before leaving the colonel's office. Quickly he delivered the files to the quartermasters before heading to his mother's house.

When he arrived, the Kalinkas family was already there, trying to figure out how to get into the portal without being seen. Talia had told him as soon as he walked in the door. He laughed.

"No worries, Talia. Marietta and Nathanial are coming with us! Mama and Anamaria, too!" he told Talia as he swung her up to carry into the kitchen.

"All of us?" Talia excitedly asked. "You mean I'm coming, too?"

"Courtesy of Colonel Smith himself," Diego confirmed.

"Yippee!" came the squeal of delight.

**_A/N: Enjoy? Review, please!_**


	6. Chapter 6

Meet the Family Ch 6

_(The day the paperwork was approved)_

Tom was up bright and early with the sun. Breathing deeply, he stretched his arms over his head as he stood the protruding balcony that overlooked the city. Small pops resounded throughout his spine, and he hummed in approval. Dropping his hands down, he watched the city stir and began its day.

A green hand clasped his shoulder and Tom looked up to see Maxxor. The boy grinned.

"How did yesterday's meeting go?" he asked his favorite Creature. Maxxor sighed and looked over his city.

"Long. There were a lot of factors to point out and fix with new humans coming," he explained. Tom gained a confused look.

"How come? It's my brother's base, he's there," he asked the Overworld leader.

"We had to decide where to meet them, who might harm them, and what they might do when they meet us. Will they attack us or accept us for who we are? Will they accept our customs and our ways or will they be rude and disregard our customs as nothing?" Maxxor exaggerated his points to his human, trying to help Tom see the reasoning.

"Well, _that's_ understandable," Tom simply said, looking at the sun that was continuing to rise. Maxxor looked at the boy sharply.

"Really?" he asked dubiously.

"Sure. There are humans that might act like you're nothing but pieces of trash on the road. No matter how hard we try to get rid of prejudices, there's still going to be someone out there who will not like you and call you horrible names," Tom explained, then looked back up to Maxxor. "But for every prejudice person out in the world, there are ten people who accept you for who you are."

Maxxor raised his brows. "Who told you that?"

"My great-grandfather was in World War II. The Italian-Americans were under heavy fire at the time because Italy was with Germany and Hitler. Great-Granddad was part of a special forces that was stationed near Japan. When his buddies found out that he was from Italy, but before the war, they were okay with it because of how he acted and treated everyone," Tom explained. Maxxor was silent for awhile, then grasped Tom in a one-armed hug. "Your great-grandfather would be very proud of you for using his wisdom."

Tom nodded. "He was a great man, and he lives on through my mother's side of the family."

Maxxor nodded as well. Then he patted Tom's shoulder and said, "Come, let's get some breakfast."

"Why do you always do that?" Tom asked, following Maxxor inside the castle.

"Hmm?"

"Why do you always suggest food when a discussion is over?" Tom clarified, jogging a little to keep up with the much bigger Creature.

"Because I know for a fact that teenage boys are bottomless pits that constantly need feeding," Maxxor teased and ran as Tom gave chase, laughing deeply. Laughter turned into a small wrestling match, which Maxxor won.

"You're getting better," Maxxor approved after the match was over.

"I've been going against Malvadine and Attacat. It hasn't been ending well," Tom grimaced.

"Practice, Tom, practice," Maxxor chided. They had reached the Dining Hall, where Kaz, Peyton, and Sarah were sitting with Odu-Bathax, Chaor, Takinom, Prince Mudeenu, and Intress. There were fruit bowls along the table, and Sarah was almost finished with a green cluster of berries. Peyton was relatively wake, but Kaz looked to be half-dead, not having completely woken up yet. Tom took a seat beside him and shook his head at the sight of his best friend barely wake. Maxxor took a seat next to Intress and immediately went down to business with the other Tribal leaders.

"The first thing we'll absolutely need to know is if there will be anyone who's going to be dangerous," Chaor began, just as Kaz fell back to sleep with a light snore.

"KAZ!" Sarah shouted, jolting Kaz awake. Wildly, he swung his head back and forth in bewilderment.

"What?" he asked, borderline hysteria laced in his voice. He looked to Tom, who was completely used to his best friend's waking routines.

"The Spanish Inquisition wants us. Let's not leave any details out, shall we?" Tom supplied. Kaz nodded, hysteria going down slowly as the red head looked at the Creatures. Takinom was trying desperately not to laugh, her hand clamped over her mouth and wings shaking. The rest had the decency to just twitch and cough.

"Who should we start with first, Tiny or Maya?" Tom asked Kaz. Kaz turned to him astonished.

"Tiny or-? We should be including civilians in this, are you kidding me? The true question is 'who should we start first, our mothers or Tiny?'"

"We'll save our mothers for last, believe me," Tom firmly said. Maxxor and Chaor both were shaking from suppressed laughter while Takinom and Intress giggled. The rest of the Tribal Alliance looked at the two boys with confusion.

"Tiny it is, then. Though his nickname is misleading," Kaz declared. Here the Tribal Alliance sat a little straighter in their seats.

"His real name is Timothy Hither, Private First Class. His nickname is Tiny because of his height; he's a head shorter than me!" Tom began. "But Kaz is right, Tiny is very misleading. He has a huge attitude and even bigger than his attitude is his love for explosives."

"You could see him every day out in the field, testing out the C4 explosives," Kaz picked up. "He did at least one explosion per day when he first came to our town. Now he has to do them once a month by orders of Colonel Smith."

"So, you're saying that this Tiny has an attitude and a love for explosives. Oh, boy. We better hide the Nexus Fuses," Sarah said. Peyton and the others snickered.

For Kaz and Tom, that did it. The dam burst open and stories of Diego's favorite squad of four flew out of their mouths. How Diego, despite being in charge of a company, was most likely to bring in a squad of soldiers instead. How Maya and Richard would annoy Sergeant Eito Yaski with silly riddles. How, despite all the times they may act like children, they will put their game faces on and face the enemy.

Questions were peppered in here and there, but it was mostly Tom and Kaz who did the talking. Sarah and Peyton cut in with stories of their own, so that everyone had a chance to speak.

Maxxor had a troubled look when Tom never mentioned his father throughout the stories, though Tom was too absorbed to notice his hero's body language. The green Creature hid his troubles from the humans before the stories could be derailed, but he knew that the others had seen it. Thankfully, they didn't call him out and he made a mental note to ask Diego why Tom didn't know his own father. He prayed that they didn't bring it up later on in the day.

Finally, about mid-morning, the humans slowed down with their families, but not once did they mention their mothers. Intress made the nudge to them.

"What about your mothers? What will they do?" she asked when they finished with their relatives. Silence met her question. Not even Sarah or Peyton had an answer to that. Their faces had guilt and worry carved all over, and none of the Creatures could blame them.

"Tom's mother, as you know from the horror stories that we've told, she's…got a temper. She took a couple of majors down several pegs. She's mostly likely going to unleash her fury and do the same on you guys, and on us," Kaz said, then turned to Sarah and Peyton. "Not you two. You guys are safe."

"Kaz's mom is just as bad," Tom piped up. "She threatened to tell embarrassing stories about us one time when we were being really obnoxious."

Intress and Takinom looked at each other.

"I think I like these women," Intress stated with approval. Takinom laughed as the two boys groaned in horror. The others had the decently to cover their mouths with their hands as they snickered.

"It's not going to be funny when _you_ get yelled at by Ma!" Tom countered their laughter, shaking his finger at them. "She can really turn up the volume when she wants to."

"And Diego won't be able to really stop them since they're not under his command and because they're mothers," Kaz elaborated further. Sarah and Peyton winced in sympathy.

"Yes, well, they'll have to behave themselves until everyone is out of public, won't they?" Prince Mudeenu smirked. Tom and Kaz looked at the Mipedian and at the same time said, "No, they won't."

"They're mothers, Mudeenu. If they think that we 'stole' their children, they will fight to the end to get them back," Takinom supplied.

"For now, let's not worry about the adults," Maxxor said, standing up. Intress took her cue from her mate and stood as well. Mudeenu and Odu-Bathax rose from their own seats while Chaor and Takinom were content with sitting. Maxxor looked at the humans, a smirk carving his face when he saw how suspicious the humans were becoming.

"I do believe that our humans need to know what's planned for the next few days, Maxxor," Intress purred darkly. Odu-Bathax snickered.

"They really need to know. After all, they do have the choice of whether or not they want to _accept_ the challenge," Prince Mudeenu said slyly. That did it for Tom and his friends.

"Challenge?" Tom asked, leaning forward. Sarah looked uninterested, but the gleam in her eye told otherwise. Kaz and Peyton were over-eager puppies, ready for whatever was ahead.

"A three-day challenge, in fact. If you and other Chaotic players accept, that is," Chaor elaborated, though not giving away the full challenge. Kaz shrewdly looked at his favorite Creature.

"What kind of challenge?" the red-head wanted to know. After all, a Creature's definition of "challenge" could equal a human's definition of "painful excursion of death" in some situations. Takinom shrugged.

"Just a race. It's what's going on in the race that's the challenge," she explained. Kaz frowned, but before he could say anything else, Tom jumped up in excitement.

"I'm in!"

"Me, too!" Sarah chimed in, jumping up as well.

"Count me in!" Peyton was just as enthusiastic. Kaz looked lost after the declarations of his friends, but then gave up.

"All right, I'm in," he said, a slow smile coming on his face.

The Creatures smirked at the humans' excitement.

"There's a list of items in the Barracks for the challenge. I suggest that you head there to see what you need to pack," Takinom said, finally standing up and stretching.

Tom and his friends raced from the room to head to the Barracks, slamming the doors behind them.

…..

Intress watched in amusement as her and Maxxor's human and his friends sprinted from the Dining Hall and the doors slammed closed.

"So," Odu-Bathax drawled, looking to Maxxor. Maxxor just had a placid look on his face, though his mouth twitched as he tried to keep an amused smirk hidden. Unfortunately for the great Overworld lord, Chaor noticed and couldn't help but tease.

"Why, Maxxor," the Underworld lord purred, "I do believe that you are going to enjoy this little…'race.'"

Maxxor looked at Chaor with distain. "How can I, or even you, enjoy this race when only our warriors can chase them?"

Takinom huffed. "Well, it's going to be no fun for me! Do you think I _want_ to chase that slimy, grease ball of a player?"

"I'm forever grateful to the Cothica that I've got Tom to chase," Intress sighed in relief over the thought of chasing a human that was a stranger to her.

"Venta has Peyton, thank goodness." Prince Mudeenu muttered the last part to himself.

"Sarah has Tassanil after her," Odu-Bathax added, naming the Danian noble who told Sarah to get to work.

Takinom was still on the fact that she wouldn't be chasing Kaz. "Can Rothar even follow Kaz's movements?"

The rest of the Creatures ignored her. "When will we tell the humans that we're the ones going after them?" Chaor asked.

"When they reach their respective locations," Maxxor answered patiently.

"Luck of the draw, Takinom. You pulled Klay's name out of the hat, you have to chase him down," Intress sympathetically said to her Underworld counterpart.

"Says you," grumbled the Underworld's second in command.

"Hey, you could catch him within a day," Intress pointed out.

"And scare the life out him in the process," Odu-Bathax put his two cents worth. Takinom mulled over this fact before smirking.

….

Tom had just finished packing his backpack with everything that he needed for the three day challenge. The list wasn't extensively long, but his backpack was still filled to the brim. He had a hard time getting the zipper to close with everything inside.

Pleased smirk on his face, Tom pulled out his scanner to see how long he had left until he had to report to his transport that would be taking him to his location. The smirk fell when he saw the timer. Five minutes until running time! Quickly, he snatched up his backpack and raced throughout the castle, trying to reach the main courtyard on the side of the castle.

A flying leap from the stairs and a sprint later, Tom barely made it to the courtyard, filled to the brim with vehicles of all sizes, before a muscular arm shot out and pulled him into a massive bear hug. The boy tensed for a moment before the sight of familiar green skin with its purple tattoos calmed him. Tom looked up to see the golden eyes of Maxxor twinkling with mirth.

"Did you honestly think that you could leave without saying good-bye?" he ruffled the black forelock of Tom's hair, getting it messy. Tom wiggled out of the bear hug and tried to put his hair back in order.

"I thought I could. You know I'm coming back," Tom reasoned.

"Yes, but you don't have to come back entirely. All you have to do is touch me and port away," Maxxor countered. Tom grinned impishly.

"And miss out on the family reunion, along with your chewing out? No way. I'll save you from Ma," he promised. Maxxor rolled his eyes as Tom snickered.

"Not very reassuring, Thomas," the Overworld leader muttered sullenly.

"Hey, I'll be facing what you and the others will go through when I head back to Earth."

"True."

A whistle sounded from one of the Dread Treads. Maxxor gave Tom a little nudge. "Get going. I'll see you in three day's time."

Tom flashed a quick smile and pressed a little booklet in the Creature's hand before racing of to find his transport vehicle. Finding it, he turned back with a cheeky smile and, cupping both hands around his mouth, yelled, "Good luck with the clan!"

He disappeared into the Dread Tread before Maxxor could make a good comeback. Inside, he saw Kaz, Sarah, and Peyton with Venta, Tassanil, Rothar, and Intress, all blindfolded. Then a blindfold covered his own eyes.

"Hey!"

"Relax," came the voice of Gespedan. "The blindfold is to insure that you don't get any sneak peeks."

Blindfold securely on, Tom felt himself be led to a seat. Gratefully, he sat down, just as the Dread Tread ran over a bump. He banged his head against the wall and groaned. This was going to be a _long_ trip.

…..

Maxxor shook his head as Tom disappeared into the Dread Tread. _That boy_, he thought with fondness. Heavy footsteps informed him of a massive Creature coming up behind him, and Maxxor twitched his head enough to see Chaor walking up.

"So, did your human warn you of his mother as well?" Chaor wasted no time with words as he came to a stop next to Maxxor. Just then, the vehicles started up and left the courtyard. In mere moments, the courtyard was deserted except for a small amount of warriors and players that had politely denied the challenge.

Maxxor was silent as the courtyard emptied; eyes on Tom and Intress's Dread Tread as it turned the corner and vanished. Only when every vehicle had left did the lord of the Overworld answer.

"Not really. He did give me this though before he left," Maxxor said, looking at the booklet. Glancing at the title, he had to laugh. The booklet, no more than several half sheets of human loose leaf paper tied together with loose yarn, had obviously seen better days, for tiny rips and tear pickings rimmed the outside as the ink faded from black to grey to brown. The title, however, was what had him laughing.

_Enraged Mothers for Dummies_ by Thomas Anthony Majors, Forward by Anamaria June Majors in fancy cursive made the cover page. Maxxor had seen enough of Tom's homework assignments to know that the boy had legible handwriting, but not as fancy as this. The faded ink and little nicks suggested that it was made years ago, so Maxxor figured that Tom didn't write the first couple of pages. The rest, as he flipped through the booklet, seemed to come from one source.

Chaor looked on as Maxxor inspected Tom's booklet.

"May I suggest that you _study_ it rather than _skim_ it?" he said. "It might help us survive longer."

Then the lord of the Underworld left the other lord to his studying as Maxxor looked at Chaor with a surprised expression. Then the green skinned Creature smirked.

"Better get started then," he muttered, turning the pages to the Forward and Chapter 1: How to Avoid Butt Chewings.


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N: I'm starting to think that these chapters maybe a monthly thing. I'm not sure yet. Anyways, Ch 7 is now up. I don't own Chaotic. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this, now would I?_**

Meet the Family Ch 7

When the Dread Tread finally came a stop, Sarah was pretty sure that any fillings that she had were jingling around in her head. Though she still had her blindfold on, her other senses made up for the lack of sight. There were birds chirping jovially from beyond the metal of the Underworld tank, and leaves rustling in the wind. Sarah felt her hand be taken by Gespedan and led her out to the war air.

"Don't take off your blindfold yet," warned Gespedan. "There are others coming out as well."

There was a small breeze as the Overworld scout left her to retrieve the rest of the gang and the Creatures that had come with them. Sarah fidgeted as she tried to figure out where she was. There was a slight humidity in the air, making her backpack cling to her back, suggesting somewhere slightly tropical. The birds suggested somewhere in the Overworld, since they would have to reach Kiru City in three days and there were not many places in the other territories where birds lived.

"Okay, you all can take off the blindfolds now," came the call. Quickly, Sarah ripped off the piece of fabric to see trees and colorful plants decorating the hard brown earth. Turning slowly to take in as much of her surroundings as possible, she came face to face with Krystella and Jystella.

"What are you doing here, Krystella?" Sarah asked surprised and a touch annoyed. Krystella glared at the Danian player.

"Do you honestly think that I'm going to let my newbie sister go out into Perim with no guide? You must have been hanging around the bugs for too long!" the brunette snapped. The blonde twin placed a hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Will you chill, sis? She was just asking," Jystella said. Krystella growled and the two walked away just as Tom, Kaz, and Peyton came up behind her.

"Hey," Tom said in greeting cheerfully, then frowned. "You okay?"

Sarah stared after the set of twins. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

A sharp whistle attracted the attention of all the players and Creatures. Gespedan was standing on an uneven stump.

"Okay, everyone. Huddle up!" Quickly everyone gathered around him, eager for the activity to come. The humans were listening because what the Overworld scout said could be used to their advantage. The Creatures gathered around because they needed to know what the rules were.

"Chaotic players! You are now on the edge of the Forest of Life. As you know, you are racing to Kiru City and in order to finish and win, you have to touch both the gate into Kiru and your Tribal Leader. For Overworld players, that means Maxxor, Underworld players Chaor, Odu-Bathax for Danians, and Mipedians go to Prince Mudeenu. You cannot use your scanners, and the Codemasters have reassured us this by turning off the porting ability. You have three days to reach Kiru City and touch both to finish and win. Now, there is a catch," Gespedan motioned to the other Creatures, "hence why these guys are here."

The humans glanced at each other, curiosity that had been at them ever since they saw the Creatures boarding with them eating away even faster. The Creatures, however, were desperately trying not to laugh. Rothar had just simply given up and was snickering uncontrollably.

"You Players are going to be hunted by _us_. You are allowed to use Battlegear as a way to slow down the Creature that's after you, _if_ you get your hands on some. Hand to hand combat is allowed, though not recommended. The same goes with groups. If you get caught, you still have to touch the gate," Gespedan continued explaining, grinning at some more horrified players' expressions. Sarah, however, was wired with anticipation. Who wouldn't be excited to have the chance to outwit a Creature, even it was only one time before they were caught? The Tribal Alliance was _really_ going all out on this race!

"Creatures, you are allowed _only_ four attacks _per day_. We don't want our friends hurt, just caught. Use your attacks wisely; after four, you're done. The wristband that Bodal and Ulmar came up with will shock you when you go over your limit. One short shock to start off with, and then it will get more intense with every attack you do. Danians, you're not allowed to call upon the Hive. Mipedians, you can only use your invisibility four times, like your attacks. No Mugic or Mugicians and the Battlegear option is for _humans only_." Here Gespedan fixed a steely gaze at his fellow Creatures. "If you hear a human that is not your own, _do not interfere_. If it's a group of humans, you have to capture your own human. Your teammates _cannot_ grab him or her for you. _You_ have to catch them." Nods from the Creatures, absolutely serious, showed that they were honorable and follow the rules laid down for them.

Sarah watched as Gespedan gained a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Well, then. Let call out names and who with who."

The blue scout whipped out a list. "Dan, you'll be chased by Dasalin." An African American boy with cornrows nodded and looked to the slim red Danian.

"Attacat, you have Kevin and Kate." Here, Gespedan frowned. "Did you two _have_ to put both of your names on the same slip of paper?"

Kevin and Kate, mocha skinned brother and sister and looked like two sacks of flour compared to the rest of the humans, looked at Gespedan with an earnest expression. "Yes!"

Attacat rolled his eyes as Gespedan shook his head and muttered, "All right."

Going back to the list, Gespedan called out, "Jenifer and Zhade."

Jenifer was a shy, brunette of a girl who preferred the company of adult Mipedians rather than her fellow humans.

"Mike and Staluk." Gespedan continued down the list. "Hannah and Qwun. Ralph and Ekuud. Here's an oldie but goodie; Jystella and Krystella versus Aivenna and Nivenna."

From the corner of her eye, Sarah saw Jystella and Krystella look at each other, then turn to the two lieutenants. She felt a tiny amount of pity for them, but only a little.

"Next up is Tom and Intress. Kaz and Rothar. Sarah and Tassanil. Peyton and Vinta."

Sarah looked between her boys. Well, _this_ should be interesting. Who would expect that the highest and most difficult would be after them? Intress and Vinta were great trackers, so making sure that their tracks were impossible to follow was important. Tassanil was a noble but he was no pushover. He had chased enough humans out of Mt. Pillar's reservoir to know how they operate. Rothar was pure muscle and any places that Sarah and her friends could squeeze into could be uprooted to make room for his fellow hunters.

Gespedan quickly finished his list, which included Tangath Toborn, Ghatup, and Illizar. Putting away the parchment, the scout looked straight at the humans.

"Humans, you have an hour head start. I suggest you use it wisely," he said. Sarah and Tom exchanged looks of surprise just as Gespedan shouted, "GO!"

Sarah barely registered Gespedan's voice before her legs carried her to the left, following Tom as they disappeared into the forest.

….

Rothar watched in distaste as the humans scattered in the general direction of Kiru City. Wait an hour? The humans surely didn't need that much time!

"What are _we_ suppose to do for an hour?" he grumbled to Gespedan. Gespedan shrugged.

"Check over your supplies, look over maps, figure out what attacks to use. The list is endless." Tangath Toborn plopped himself down on a small boulder and began to look over a map.

"And if we've already done this?" Rothar pressed.

"Just shut up and sit down all ready!" Kamaganth, the she-centipede Underworlder, cried, then muttering under her breath, _"Good grief."_

Rothar grumbled a little bit more before leaning up against a thick tree, arms crossed. Silence enveloped the group, a bit uncomfortable because they didn't know what to say to one another. The vehicles had already left and heading back to Kiru City. Finally, Qwun asked, "So, any ideas as to what tactics the kiddies are going to use?"

"Slip into small spaces, that's for sure," Attacat spoke up.

"Or run backwards so that their tracks mess us up," piped Vinta.

"Or climb over rocks so that they have no tracks at all," added Intress.

"Climb trees and jump from branch to branch!"

"They don't have the stamina or the coordination to do that!"

"Okay, enough with the worst case scenarios here!" Qwun shouted over the din, clamping his hands to his ears.

"Too late, you asked." Aivenna shook her head in mock sadness.

"Now, you have to deal with the repercussions," Nivenna finished with no mercy. Qwun groaned.

The bantering of each human's special technique and factors made the hour pass by quickly. It had passed an extra five minutes before Gespedan noticed that they should be moving to follow their designated human(s).

"Hour's up! Let's move out!" he shouted, jumping up and grabbing his gear. The rest of the group looked at him in surprise before rushing to snag their own gear.

"See you in Kiru!" Gespedan shouted before using his speed to disappear into the Forest of Life. Rothar turned to Intress, Tassinal, and Vinta.

"Find our humans together?" he suggested. Tassinal and Intress nodded, predator grins on their faces.

"Oh yeah," Vinta agreed with enthusiasm. Together, the group of four went after Tom, Kaz, Peyton, and Sarah.

…

Klay was running as fast as he could through the thick shrubs of the Graalorn Forest. The magnificent trees around him casted dark shadows over him, and the sun glinting through the leaves made seeing possible. It was the shadows that had the blonde jumping from side to side as he ran.

Takinom was after him, and hearing possible wing beats was causing Klay to panic. Little did he know that the she-Creature was right above him, riding the thermals so that she wouldn't make any noise.

The winged Underworlder grinned as she went into a steep dive. This was going to be fun.

Flapping her wings to level herself out as best as she could with trees all around, Takinom ducked behind a bush as Klay whirled around looking for the source of the flapping. Carefully, she placed one foot forward. A twig snapped and she grimaced. Klay was running as fast as he could as soon as he heard the snapping twig.

Quickly, Takinom took to the air and screeched. Klay ran even harder. She could hear his labored breathing from ten feet away. Flying quickly, she closed in on the blonde player and swiped a claw at him. He screamed shrilly, sounding like a wild boar about to be slaughtered. Chuckling lowly to herself, Takinom raised up until she was in the canopy section of the forest.

She allowed Klay to be in front of her for several feet before swooping down low and swiping at him again. He screamed again and continued running. This continued several times until Takinom came up with another way to toy with Klay. Letting out another screech, she landed on a tree limb to wait.

Klay went farther and farther away from where Takinom landed until he reached the edge of a small creek. Collapsing into the water, he panted heavily, trying to get his body to cool down. Once his breathing was at a reasonable level, he took a few sips of water from the creek under him, not caring about pollution. The Graalorn Forest was mostly unscathed from the M'arrillians, so the water was as clean as anything. After he finished drinking, Klay crossed the creek so that he could dry a bit before running again.

Taking out a map from his pack, Klay smoothed it out on the grass. Checking all the trails and water sources, he estimated that he had the rest of the day to reach the edge of the forest. Just as he finished putting the map away, a rustle came from his left. Snapping his head in that direction, Klay watched it for any more movement before hastily zipping up his pack and swinging it over his shoulders. Taking off at a run, he didn't see the figure rising up from the bush.

Takinom chuckled lowly to herself. Odu-Bathax was right; it was fun to scare slime balls! She followed Klay silently on foot, carefully one foot in front of the other as to not scare the boy even more. As soon as she saw him walking, she let out a horrible war cry that would shake even the bravest warrior.

Klay was running again faster than ever. He tripped over a root and lost his magenta sunglasses. Picking them up, he tucked them away to a safer location other than his face. He was brushing off dead leaves and dirt when the war cry went off at his heels again. Jumping slightly, he rushed to escape, making even more mistakes.

Takinom waited until Klay was out of sight before muttering, "Time to end this."

Taking to the air, she flew through the understory, swerving in and out of trees. She watched as the boy's tracks went from a straight line to twists and curves, even loops to try to throw her off. The first time he did this, she almost ran into a tree. The second time she did. Shaking her head to clear herself of the pain that the limb caused, Takinom paid more attention to her surroundings as she flew once more forward.

On and on the tracks the tracks went. Takinom was becoming angry at herself. How far did she really let that slime ball supporter of Van Bloot's go? He couldn't have gone far; he wasn't really used to running for his life like the other players do. He was better at smooth talking and scamming others to do any running in Perim.

Finally, Takinom came across a stream when the tracks ended abruptly. She actually fluttered a little bit to stay in the air as she surveyed the damp ground. Dropping to the ground, she kneeled down to observe the tracks in the muddy stream just as a few leaves in a tree behind her rustled. Takinom was thankful that her back was facing the trees; Klay wouldn't know that she heard him.

She pretended to study the tracks a little bit longer before using her first attack. Turning quickly, she launched a Flame Orb towards the still shaking leaves.

Klay yelped as the Flame Orb came straight at him. Thinking quickly, he leaped down to the next two branches. The Flame Orb passed him, singeing his pants leg. Takinom was there in an instant, her hand pinning his throat to the tree. Klay struggled as her hand began to squeeze. Finally, just as he was about to claw her wrist and arm, the squeezing hand stopped so that there wouldn't be any bruising to his neck. The she-Creature leaned in close.

"Give up?" she breathed. Klay stopped struggling and glared. Takinom gave him a pointed look. Gritting his teeth, Klay nodded his head irritably. Takinom smiled smugly.

"Good," she purred. Clasping the back of his coat and shirt, Takinom lifted Klay into the air and escaped the confines of the Graalorn Forest.

"Gah!" Klay choked as the ground fell away sharply. As soon as the trees were far enough away so that no branches jutted out, Takinom flipped him upside down and grabbed his ankle.

"Aaahh!" Klay screamed shrilly as the trees came a _little_ too close for comfort.

"Jesus!" he swore. "The rules say that no humans are to be harmed in this race!"

"Yes, and you're not harmed, now are you?" Takinom teased, enjoying herself very much with scaring the living daylights out of the grease ball.

"Oh sure, you say that now, but I know better! When we get to be over an open field, you'll drop me!"

"Is that a suggestion?"

"NO!"

Takinom laughed as she flew, heading to Kiru City as the sun set, bathing everything in orange and red.

…..

Peyton was panting by the time the sun set and only a small sliver of pinkish light showed over the horizon. He and his friends had been running all day from their hunters. There had been several close calls, including when they went through a bunch of strong reeds and Tassanil flattened them all. If it wasn't for another player causing a five Creature pile up, the game would have been over for them.

The gang was taking a break from running and checking the maps for farther directions. Tom and Sarah were hovering over the map as Kaz slowly drank water so that cramps wouldn't form. Peyton was digging through his pack to try and find something to eat. What he found instead was a scrap of paper that somehow found its way into his backpack. Frowning, he brought it over to the rest of the gang.

"Hey, guys," Peyton said quietly so that their position wouldn't be given away. Three pairs of eyes turned to see the slip of paper. "Check this out."

Kaz gripped the paper and read out loud, "_Dear player, this note is to tell you that the possible two nights that you are staying out in the wilds of Perim, you can use only one night to move forward and the other night to rest. The Creature who is chasing you will have both nights to rest. We suggest that you take advantage of your rest. _Can you believe this?"

"Uh, yeah," Sarah said in a bored tone. Tom returned his attention back to the map.

"Do you guys want tonight to be our rest night and tomorrow night we'll be night owls?" he asked. Kaz, Peyton, and Sarah mulled it over for a little while before giving their answer.

"I don't particularly care," announced Sarah.

"I don't mind if we sleep tonight and move on tomorrow night," Kaz added.

"Whatever you guys do is fine with me," Peyton finished. Tom looked at his friends with a deadpan expression.

"Tonight, then, huh?" A chorus of agreement met his statement. "There's a river nearby. Lots of rocks, caves, and trees for hiding and clean water to refill our water bottles. And if we move around a lot and head into the river the next morning, Intress and Venta won't be about to find any trace of our scent."

"If we swim a little upriver or downriver, it'll be even harder for them to follow us!" Sarah excitedly pointed out as Tom began to roll up the map.

"Perfect camping potential!" Kaz agreed.

"Then let's go!" Peyton began to walk to forward.

"Uh, Peyton?" Tom called. Peyton turned to see Tom pointing to the right, map still in hand. "The river's that way."

Peyton brushed it off. "Right."

The gang went off at a light jog, weaving around trees and making figure eights to throw off tomorrow's hunters. They were almost to the river when they came across a wall of thorns. First, they checked how far the wall went. When they saw that it was too far off course, the players tried to go under it. It worked, but with mixed results.

"No pain," Kaz grunted as he attempted to remove a thorn from his sock, "no game."

After freeing themselves from the thorns, Tom, Kaz, Peyton, and Sarah went a little farther to reach the river. The shores surrounding the river were indeed rocky, and there were plenty of outcroppings and hidey-holes for them to stay dry and warm. They chose an outcropping with plenty of cover and began to set up camp.

"Uh, Sarah?" Tom ventured quietly. He had a pot of water in his hand while Sarah was digging through her pack. Kaz and Peyton were trying to start up a fire with Tom's survival kit. Sarah had to flip her hair from her face when she turned to him.

"Yeah?" she asked, a cloth ball in hand. Tom began to stammer, "You, uh, still uh…have a branch in your hair."

Sarah frowned and began to feel through her hair to find the branch. When she found it, she huffed and began to gently untangle it, placing the cloth ball on the ground. Finally, she freed her hair from her pointy menace and threw it away from the camp.

"Thanks," she said, picking up the ball.

"No problem," Tom replied. Peyton and Kaz had the fire going, but they had to wait awhile for the fire to heat up so that they could cook. When the water was boiling, Tom cut open the cloth ball and poured the noodle mixture inside into the pot.

"Think we should have guard duty?" Kaz asked when the soup was finally distributed.

"Sure, that way nobody sneaks up on us," Sarah agreed.

"So who wants first watch?" Tom asked through a mouthful of noodles.

"I can do it; I can stay up late and still get up in the morning perky," Kaz said.

"I'll take first watch with him," Peyton volunteered.

"I'll be with Tom with the second watch," Sarah said as she finished her noodles. Everyone nodded and began to clean up. The fire was put out, and the sleeping bags were unrolled. Kaz and Peyton settled down with some of their Chaotic cards and a lantern while Tom and Sarah wriggled into their sleeping bags.

"Wake us up around 2:30, okay?" Tom said.

"Aye, aye," Kaz said absentmindedly as he set up his deck. Peyton had his all ready set up. Soon, Tom and Sarah had dropped into an uneasy sleep as Peyton and Kaz played.

_**A/N: Enjoyed it? If you did, please review.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N: Late again. Oh well. Takinom requested some sort of Jystella/Krystella and Aivenna/Nivenna fighting scene so here you go! Ch 9, you're next. I don't own anything, if I did I wouldn't be searching for cheap colleges._**

Meet the Family Ch 8

The next day, the sun rose bright and early. Intress and Tassanil had the morning watch and were currently munching on some fruit. Rothar was asleep against a tree, snoring deeply. Vinta was hanging from a branch in the same tree, asleep as well, though not a deep snorer like Rothar. Intress shook her head lightly.

"Never thought that I would see a sight like that," she said, jerking her head to the sleeping duo. Tassanil just chuckled.

"Let's just hope that this peace stays this way, as peace," the Danian said, his exoskeleton shaking in laughter. "Shall we wake them up?"

"You want Rothar or Vinta?" Intress countered.

"Vinta. You're faster with the big boy." Tassanil started forward and moved to one of the Rothar-less sides of the tree, directly under Vinta. Intress moved in front of Rothar and, taking a running start, slammed her body into the minotaur and bounced back quickly. Rothar was awake within seconds and roaring, fists clenched and ready to brawl. Tassanil pulled on Vinta's tail at the same time. Vinta tumbled off of his branch and immediately went into a fighter's pose.

"What happened?" Rothar demanded, still ready to fight.

"We woke you up," Intress replied calmly. "Now, come on. Get packed and something to eat. The sun's already up."

Vinta looked to the direction of the barely risen sun and immediately began to grab his supplies and pack them away. Rothar snorted.

"Those kids are probably sleeping in. We'll be fine," he said. Tassanil looked at the Underworlder incredulously, his gear on his shoulders.

"You mean that all the times that Sarah got up in the early mornings were all lies?" he asked sarcastically. Rothar glared at the Danian before starting to pack his own gear. Intress brought out two different fruits and tossed them to the now packed warriors.

"Best to eat on the road, no clue when we'll meet up with the kids again," she briskly said. The Mipedian and Underworlder nodded as they caught the fruit. Hauling their gear on their backs, the squad went off at a little trot. The two late risers stayed in the back and munched on their breakfast while the early birds constantly checked the ground for track or sniffing the air for a scent.

Rothar finished with his breakfast and threw the core into some bushes. By pure chance, he glanced down to see a footprint. He kneeled down to see the print better. A sneaker, size 9, with a slight heel. Only one of their humans wore a shoe like that. The other three had no heels and judging the position of the print they were heading toward the river.

"Got something!" Rothar cried. Quickly the others gathered around him to study the track. After a few seconds, Vinta spoke up.

"This is Kaz's shoe. Everyone else is flat," he stated.

"Right, and judging their position the kids are heading to the river," Rothar confirmed while Intress moved around the bushes to check for more tracks.

"They _would_ go to the river. Plenty of water to fill their water bottles and they can cook there as well," Tassanil pointed out.

"You are also forgetting that Tom knows these lands. There are a lot of boulders and caves where they could hide. All they have to do is tap dance around the place and hide across the river while we stumble around looking for them. Got some more tracks over here," Intress called. The three males came over to inspect the prints. "They definitely went to the river. Let's go."

"Oh, come on. This is no time for orders!" Rothar grouched as the group moved ahead of him towards the river.

"Shut up, Rothar!" Vinta and Tassanil cried over their shoulders. Rothar growled and rushed to stay with them. The kids' tracks went everywhere. They mostly ignored the loops and figure eight tracks and pushed onward on the straight forward tracks.

"The kids are getting smart," grunted Vinta as he observed a track loop around a tree. "They probably thought 'Hey! Let's make as many tracks as possible, and have our scent muddled in the morning!'"

Intress hummed. "No, they most likely thought about their tracks rather than their scent."

"Did they think about this, too?" Tassanil asked as he stopped in front of the thorn wall. The others bunched together to stare it. Vinta crouched down to the ground to see the tracks going up and down along the wall.

"Well, looks like the kids aren't going to the river after all," he simply said.

"Or they could have gone around," Tassanil suggested. The three Creatures began to search the length of the wall while Intress peered closer into the thorns. She plucked a thread of thick white fabric off of a branch. Twirling it between her fingers, she stood up just as Rothar came back.

"They must have gone another way. The tracks ended there and were messed up pretty bad," the Underworld minotaur said.

"Or they went under the thorns," Intress countered, showing him the white thread just as Tassanil and Vinta returned from their own scouting. They had just caught the end of Intress's statement and glared at the thorns.

"Those kids are getting too smart for their own good," Rothar grouched. A few seconds and a tree climb later, the group of Creatures were back on their way toward the river. The ground had become rocky and soon they were at the river. Immediately, the foursome split up to search for any trace of their humans. Intress was the first to spot what Tom, Kaz, Peyton, and Sarah had left behind.

"They camped here!" she shouted, her voice echoing around in the outcropping where the humans were. Quickly, the former campsite was surrounded and inspected within inches of its short life.

"And here," Rothar began, "are their scents, going straight into the river."

"Let's check the other side," Vinta excitedly said, racing across the water to find tracks. The rest followed at a slightly slower pace. Together, the four Creatures carefully searched for scent trails and more tracks. Lady Luck was smiling on them when they found one lone track of a large sneaker a little farther down the river and fifteen minutes of noses to the ground.

"Finally!" Tassanil cheered when the gang started in the right direction of the track. "Who taught those kids how to cover their tracks in the first place?"

"I think Tom and Kaz had some sort of training of this stuff. Sarah and Peyton must be following their lead," Intress suggested.

"I got dibs on killing whoever taught them that training," Rothar growled. The foursome continued on, alternating between running full out and jogging. The next set of tracks came up around noon, on the edge of a small forest with plenty of hiding spots for Chaotic players.

"So they came through here," muttered Vinta while Rothar scouted ahead. "Is there a short cut to Kiru City?"

"Not really. On either side of this forest there's a ridge," Intress said. "There are large cracks that can lead to the Oakron Trail. The only problem is that the cracks are nothing more than mazes. It would take days to get out of them."

"So would they go through the ridges?" Tassanil asked.

"No. Beyond the forest, there's a large bog," Intress explained. "It'll take the kids the rest of the day, and possibly the night, to get out of, rather than lose the game to a series of mazes."

"So they went through the bog to avoid the mazes," Vinta muttered, just as Rothar returned from his scouting.

"They look to be about a quarter in. I could barely make out their silhouettes," he said. Intress grinned.

"All right," she said excitedly, the hunt getting closer. "Let's go catch us some humans."

…

Jystella and Krystella were in a field, running for all their worth, trying to escape their pursuers. So absorbed at running away, they did not know that their pursuers were ahead of them, ready to pounce. Finally, they reached the edge of the field to collapse to the ground. Quickly, they swung around to look for Aivenna and Nivenna.

"They're gone," Jystella breathed in relief.

"Or they're hiding to ambush us. Come on!" Krystella corrected her sister. The darker twin pulled Jystella towards the nearby woods. Weaving in and out of trees, they only stopped when Jystella tripped over a large tree root.

"You okay?" Krystella asked, concerned. After all, it'll be her butt on the flagpole when her parents found out what they were doing.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jystella replied, rubbing her foot. Mid-rub, however, she paused. Krystella watched carefully.

"What is it?" she growled, ready to move on.

"It's quiet," her sister replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Too quiet."

Krystella made herself stand still and listen. Not even the local birds were chirping, who were suppose to signal that everything was all right and to move on. Kyrstella turned to her twin, who was up and nervously shifting from foot to foot.

"Let's get out of here, before something bigger that the Lieutenant Twins comes and finds us," she said. Jystella nodded and the two began to jog. It wasn't long before they came across a split in the trail.

"Get the map," Krystella curtly ordered.

"Can you add a 'please' to that?" Jystella teased as she opened the backpack. Snapping twigs and a rush of leaves were the human twins' only warning before Aivenna and Nivenna dropped down from the hammock of tree branches.

"Gotcha!" Nivenna crowed happily, leaping in the air as soon as her foot touched the ground intending to land on Jystella. Krystella quickly swung her backpack off of her back and used it to send Nivenna away from her twin. Aivenna circled around Jystella to try and surprise Krystella. This action didn't work because Jystella rammed her shoulder into the she-Creature's gut. Aivenna bounced off a tree lightly and continued to circle the pair. Nivenna joined her sister after bounding out of the bush she was tossed in.

"Finally! After so many tricks and false leads, you're finally finished! This race is over; for you, that is," Nivenna continued to gloat.

"Sister! Don't give them any ideas!" Aivenna scolded.

"Too late," muttered Jystella. The blonde dove into her own backpack to reveal a Liquilizer. Pumping it quickly, she unleashed a Flash Flood on the Overworld twin. Immediately, Krystella pulled from her own backpack another Liquilizer. Together, they began to shoot as many water attacks as they could at the Lieutenant Twins. The Overworlder and Underworlder dodged every attack, circling the entire time. Quickly, the noose was tightened around the two humans, and Aivenna and Nivenna were able to disarm the girls.

"Impressive," Aivenna complimented as she tossed Jystella's Liquilizer far enough behind her so that the human would have no way of reaching it. Jystella cursed.

"So? Are you going to tie us up or are you just going to stand there?" Krystella sneered. Jystella gave her sister an astonished stare.

"Why did you ask that? Of course they're going to tie us up!" the blonde exclaimed. Krystella shrugged.

"Well, there's the other option," the brunette said.

"And what's the other option?" Nivenna asked with a grin, enjoying the argument.

"Fight!" was the Underworlder's answer as Krystella's fist made contact with the grey-skinned humanoid's cheek. Jystella kicked at Aivenna's knee, causing the Overworlder to collapse. Nivenna retaliated with a round house kick to Krystella's shoulder. Krystella sharply inhaled as her shoulder popped out of its socket, trying not to cry. Aivenna grabbed both of Jystella's legs, making the human fall on her belly. Jystella jabbed Aivenna's unprotected stomach hard twice, causing the Overworld twin to let go and allowing escape to Jystella.

Krystella was having more trouble with than Jystella was with Aivenna. Nivenna was throwing punches right and left, and there was no sign of her letting up. Krystella was barely dodging the swinging fists with her dislocated shoulder. Suddenly, Jystella was there, ramming into Nivenna with enough force that Nivenna was slightly dazed from hitting a tree.

"Come on!" Jystella tugged her sister's good arm forward and the two began to run again. They forgot, however, that Aivenna and Nivenna still had two attacks left each. Aivenna was up, crouching low, and attacked.

"Vine Snare!" she cried, slapping her hand to the ground. Vines immediately sprang up from the hard dirt and entwined themselves around Jystella's legs. Jystella landed face first on earth as the vines continued up her legs and snatch her wrists. Krystella desperately tried to untangle her sister from the trap, but it was impossible with only one arm.

"Sleep Sting!" came Nivenna's voice, followed by a sharp pinch as a needle hit home in Krystella's arm. Krystella desperately tried to stay awake but it was too late. She fell on her bad arm into a slumber.

Aivenna and Nivenna looked at each other and sighed in relief. Aivenna was the first to move; hauling Jystella to her feet and dusting the human off. Nivenna went over to Krystella and propped the sleeping girl against a tree. Quickly, the Underworlder popped the brunette's shoulder back into place.

"Well," Aivenna smirked, "game over."

Nivenna huffed. "Good!" She heaved Krystella over her shoulder in a fireman's carry, grunting lightly. "Now come on! Let's get to Kiru before night comes in."

Aivenna nodded and hoisted Jystella over her shoulder. Jystella grunted as her stomach made contact with silver shoulder armor.

"Come on! Don't we get a compliment for evading you so long?" the human girl grumbled.

"Uh, _no_!" Aivenna sarcastically replied, beginning to run to Kiru City with Nivenna.

….

Night had set in swiftly, but not before most of the hunters reached Kiru City. The remaining humans, however small the number, either began their night's sleep or trekking across Perim's lands to try and reach Kiru City.

The white full moon was high when Kaz, Tom, Sarah, and Peyton finally made it out of the bog with only minor scrapes and scratches. Kaz was panting as his feet scrambled from soggy mud to hard packed earth. The team of humans were covered in mud and tired, but they had to keep moving. Intress, Rothar, Tassanil, and Vinta had almost caught them back in the bog, but a swamp gas monster emerged between Tassanil's Flood Force attack and the ragtag team of humans before they lost the Creatures.

Tom nudged Kaz, who had gained control of his breathing. Kaz nodded and the foursome continued on their way.

"Hey, do you guys think that Vinta and the others got out of the bog as well?" Peyton wondered out loud.

"Intress probably led them to one of the bog's edges," Tom assured the Mipedian player.

"Yeah, they'll be fine," Sarah added. At "fine," however, a loud roar echoed from the direction of the bog.

"And if anything, Rothar is cursing our names as we speak," joked Kaz as the roar faded into the night. The others laughed lightly as they continued on their way to Kiru City. They walked most of the time because it was dark and their scanner lights couldn't give enough light to show the path. Clouds coming in about three made seeing even harder, which slowed them up even more and lose the path more than once.

At dawn, the kids stopped for a short break and eat. It wasn't until at the end of their "breakfast" that they looked over their maps again. Tom traced their intended path to Kiru City and smiled in relief.

"We'll probably reach Kiru City by midday," the olive skinned teen cheerfully announced.

"Thank goodness," breathed Sarah. "Can't wait to get back and Odu-Bathax a _piece of my mind_! Who thought this stupid thing up anyways?"

Kaz began to snicker. "Sarah, I don't think that no sane Creature would tell any of us whose idea it was."

"Yeah," Peyton agreed, laughing as well. They continued on their way to Kiru City.

Around midmorning, Kaz stopped from the light jog the kids paced themselves at. Tom stopped as well and frowned in concern. "What's up?"

"Can't you hear that?" Kaz whispered. Sarah and Peyton stopped as well and listened. There was only the wind brushing through the grasses from the upcoming storm, but under the whistling winds were the light snapping of twigs being stepped on.

The four humans looked at each other and immediately broke out into a run, just as Rothar barreled through the bushes almost on top of them. Vinta jumped out from the trees in time for Peyton to be directly under the branch he was crouching in while Intress launched herself at Tom from behind a young tree. Tassanil darted towards Sarah, intent on capturing her.

Fortunately, the children were able to escape by sheer dumb luck and some clever defensive arts moves by Sarah. Intress smacked into Vinta when Tom ducked and Peyton leaped out of Vinta's line of fire. Rothar rammed into Tassanil when he was sent over head over thorax by Sarah.

Quickly, they ran as fast they could from the entangled Creatures. They didn't stop until the trees gave away to prairie. They slowed down but didn't stop; they did not want to be caught again. Finally, as the dark clouds began to unleash the rain, Kaz and the others saw the massive castle overlooking Kiru City.

"We're almost there, man!" Peyton cheered as they continued their trek.

"Let's hope that nothing stops us in the meantime," Kaz muttered darkly.

_**A/N: Enjoyed it? Reviews are better than favorites, remember!**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Sorry it's been so long, real life got in the way. I've been writing a novella for my Senior Project of High School. Anyways, Chapter 9! Have fun!**_

Meet the Family Ch 9

_(Day 2 of the Hunt, day after paperwork was approved)_

Anamaria glared at the portal from her place on the baking concrete while the last of the supplies were being loaded up onto the trucks. She could see some of the Creatures, as they called themselves, mingling around the trail and just out of her reach should she wanted to harm them. If she was to be bad, that is. Alas, her mother forbad her from any fighting or harming anyone she met. Anamaria didn't know if this included her brother and Kaz, but by the time they reached the two boys she wouldn't care.

"I can't believe I can't go," grumbled a little voice to the right of her. Anamaria looked down at the miserable face of Talia. After Diego had returned home with news of the exploration of the Perim world, Talia had called her mother to tell her the plan. Aunt Renee immediately put a stop to Talia's "little" adventure by putting Diego on and in a shortened version of the conversation said that under no circumstances was Talia going. Not even Colonel Smith could change her mind.

"We'll bring back lots of pictures, okay?" Anamaria assured the little girl, kneeling to give her a hug.

"No presents?" came the muffled question.

"The colonel said no," Anamaria replied. "Besides, I don't think that these guys have souvenir shops."

Honking behind them alerted them that the Humvees were packed up and ready to go. Anamaria looked over her shoulder to see Diego hanging out of a window and waving for her to hurry. Her mother must be inside a Humvee already. Colonel Smith was standing through a sunroof, in full military uniform, waiting on her. She gave Talia another hug and growled, "Behave yourself while we're gone."

She was rushing towards her Humvee before Talia could retort. Reaching the door and opening it, Anamaria turned to see Talia, tears slowly crawling down her face, stepping back from the convoy and waving. Quickly, Anamaria sat in her seat and closed the door just as Colonel Smith gave the order, "Forward, ho!"

Immediately, the Humvee lurched forward, jerking Anamaria's head around. As the convoy moved closer and closer to the portal, Ana felt surer of herself that she and the rest of her family would bring Tom and Kaz home. Finally, the portal ring passed by her to surprise her with a tree almost right in her face. She jumped, surprised at the colorful flora.

"Howdy," a voice that surprisingly sounded like it came from the Appalachians called out. Anamaria stuck her head out the window to see the caller, a little yellow man with a purple pointed hat paired with goggles and a bit of a distinguished belly that was dressed for mountaineering, minus a shirt. He was perched on what looked like a motorcycle stuck between a giant metal wheel with curved spikes sticking out.

There were two others with him, each radically different from the other. One looked like he had frilled lizard in his ancestry and only the barest amount of armor on his arms and legs. His scaly skin, Anamaria was sure that the skin was scaly, was a mottled combination of browns and underbelly of yellow. His teeth and jaws were fitted like an alligator. His body had small amounts of muscle, but it was mostly lean and built for speed.

The other was a large vibrant red ant that stood on two legs and the other four as his arms. He was quite fat, his exoskeleton budging at places. His antennae were a contradiction to his body; they were like bendi-straws. If he weren't so smooth, Anamaria would have called him a tick.

A thud on one of the nearby Humvees caused Anamaria to turn her head to see a green bat Creature, clad in nothing but a loincloth, perched on the roof. He had protruding fangs, and his wings were basically his arms. Maya, Richard, Tiny, and Eito stuck their heads out of the passenger's window while Marietta and Nathanial opted to stay inside the Humvee with Anamaria's mother.

Anamaria was grateful that her mother wasn't looking at the practically nude man. Then he began to speak.

"I am Rarran, an Underworld scout. These are my companions: Blaizer," the mountaineering man tipped his hat, "Siado," the lizard man waved, "and Wamma."

"Hello!" waved the fat ant cheerfully. Colonel Smith and Diego stepped out of their Humvee to introduce themselves to the strange beings.

"I'm Colonel Smith, and this is Captain Diego Majors," Smith introduced himself and her brother to the locals. Anamaria felt a surge of pride on how her brother presented himself in combat uniform; with a salute and a serious expression, lips in a thin line and eyes hard, her brother looked like he was ready to face death itself.

However, the Creatures looked like he was just a bug, insignificant and tiny. Anamaria realized that what would impress humans would not even flick an eyelash to these people. Then Diego began to speak.

"My team, hand-picked by me, are in those Humvees. If there's any trouble, they have the right to defend themselves and anyone under their protection. If they need to kill, they will kill. And while some of them may be brig rats, they are loyal, strong, and honorable," Diego finished his speech and rested in parade formation, both hands behind his back and feet shoulder width apart. The Creatures, Blazier in particular, showed a little bit more interest after the announcement, but still had the expressions of belittlement.

Anamaria gritted her teeth as the Creatures returned their attention to Colonel Smith and addressed him.

"We are your guides to Kiru City. Our Tribe leaders will meet you there and explain the situation fully," Siado said in gritty voice, like there was sand stuck in his teeth and constantly grinding. Rarran spread his arms and took off of the Humvee. The colonel and Diego returned to their Humvee as Siado and Wamma began to walk. Blazier started up his bike and the giant wheel began to turn, digging into the earth and moving forward.

Anamaria noticed that Maya wasn't driving and her head was still out. Before she could silence the Hispanic woman, Maya cried out in a loud voice, "Hey! Siado, Wamma, you guys need a ride?"

Blazier stopped his bike while Rarran hovered as Siado and Wamma considered the option. Finally, Siado grinned, showing more of his sharp teeth. Wamma cried, "All right!" and started towards Maya and Richard's Humvee. Siado made his move towards Anamaria's side, with Eito in the driver's seat. Tiny had called shotgun while her mother was with Diego and Colonel Smith in the first Humvee. Marietta and Nathanial were in the other Humvee with Richard and Maya.

Siado knocked on Anamaria's window. She opened the door to let him in with suspicion. She wouldn't trust these people until she had her little brother back. After all, family was what the Majors clan cared about the most.

Siado hopped in and took in the metal and cushion surroundings of his carrier as he closed the door. "Interesting. Very much like a Dread Tread," he commented.

"Look, Siado, was it? You're going to have to help us with directions, okay?" Eito called from the driver's seat. Siado leaned forward to look through the windshield. Anamaria was grateful that Eito saw that she wasn't exactly in a talking mood. That mood darkened as Siado just said, "Just follow Blazier and the others and we'll be good to go," and leaned back into his seat.

Anamaria growled to herself. How was she supposed to avoid his questions? Tiny, however, made the first move.

"So, we know that there are four major tribes here. Which one are you from?" the demolitions expert asked.

"I am a Mipedian. My tribe lives out in the desert, or do you not have those?" Siado explained, sarcasm laced in the last part. Anamaria glared and answered for Tiny. "Yes, we do have deserts. Do your people not have manners?"

Siado snapped his head towards her, but she continued. "Oh, wait. Ario, Zhade, and Qwun were perfectly polite with us when they came to us, so it must just be you."

Siado glared at Anamaria and hissed. "Watch your tongue, human! You are in our domain now."

Anamaria pressed as close as she possibly could despite her seat belt to Siado. "I am also, I'll admit it, an overprotective sister, and my little brother is currently in 'your domain', so excuse me if I don't like you right now!"

With that, she settled back into her spot. Siado, meanwhile, was looking at her up and down with a frown. Normally, she would tolerate the elevator eyes once, but because she figured he had never seen a full grown human before, she allowed him to evaluate him two more times before giving him a warning growl, still remembering her promise to her mother. Siado looked her in the eyes and nodded.

"You'll do," he said with a nod of satisfaction. "You'll definitely do."

Anamaria tried to wrap the meaning of what the Mipedian meant when Eito interrupted. "So, Siado! What have the kiddies told you about our history?"

….

Maya was having a grand time with Wamma in the Humvee. Granted, she was slightly squished between Nathanial and Wamma, but she was still having a good time! And currently, she was getting juicy bits of information about the Creatures' weaponry.

"So, the Gauntlets of Might give you extra muscle, huh? I'll remember that next time I'm in an arm wrestling contest," she said, digesting the tidbit of information. Richard snorted from his position as driver. "Like you need any help with that."

Maya quickly shot a glare to the dark man just as Marietta asked, "What about your leaders? What are they like?"

Maya listened very closely to Wamma as he began. "Well, there's Odu-Bathax representing Queen Illexia. He's the leader for the Danians, which is my Tribe, but he has a bit of a temper. Well, all of them do, especially Chaor, but he'll come later. Anyways, Odu-Bathax knows how to keep morale up in Mandiblors. Tough, dedicated, everything a Danian is. He guards the Northern Gate of Mount Pillar and is one of the highest ranking Danians."

"And I'm guessing that you are the complete _opposite_, hmm?" Nathaniel grinned. Maya barely contained snickers as Wamma looked as undignified as possible on an ant.

"Not completely," the red Danian whined. Maya shook her ruefully and motioned him to continue.

"Prince Mudeenu is the Mipedians' leader, which is the Tribe Siado's from. They're desert dwellers and have Invisibility. Mudeenu is somewhat ruthless, but truly cares about his Tribe." Here, Wamma leaned in so that Maya's head and Marietta were closer. "But just to warn you, he looks kinda ferocious to human."

Maya looked in the rear-view mirror to Richard. "Remind me to annoy this lizard man, will ya?"

Nathanial slapped on the back of her head as she snickered uncontrollably. Richard ignored her and told Wamma, "Please continue."

Wamma nodded and went on. "The Underworld leader is Chaor."

Marietta nodded seriously. "Yes, I've heard Kaz talk about him a lot. Apparently he has a temper."

Wamma snorted. "All the Underworlders have tempers, so don't do anything too stupid." He glared at Maya, who was a bit taken back at the ant.

"I'm not completely idiotic," she snapped, pouting at the triumphant look that Wamma was giving her. She knew better than tick off certain people, and an entire Tribe called Underworlders were not to be messed with.

"So, if there are Underworlders, then there must be a people above them?" Richard asked hesitantly, treading on unknown grounds. Wamma nodded.

"Yep, they're the Overworlders," he said. Maya raised an eyebrow. This should be interesting.

"Their leader's name is Maxxor. This territory that we're in now belongs to them," Wamma continued.

"I've heard Diego say that Tom's favorite card is a guy named Maxxor, but not much other than that," Richard supplied. Maya snorted.

"If he's high on Tom's favorites' list, then of course Diego's going to approve," she interjected. Marietta stared at Wamma with curiosity.

"Where are we meeting your leaders? Kaz really didn't say in his letter," she asked.

"The Overworld's capital, Kiru City. We figured that you be more comfortable aboveground," Wamma explained.

A squeal of brakes alerted Maya that Richard stopped the Humvee after Diego. Another squeal informed her that Eito stopped as well. Maya looked out of the windshield to see two doors open to reveal Diego and Smith hopping out. Maya was grateful when Nathanial took the hint and opened his door; she knew what a bag of Skittles felt like now.

Taking a mighty leap from the edge of the door, she landed feet first in a field of tall grass and instinctually brought up her handgun. A quick overview of the field showed a wall of trees on one side and open field on the other. She moved forward a few paces and from the corner of her eye saw Eito and Tiny perform the same ritual. Satisfied, she holstered her weapon and came face to face with Wamma. He had watched her clear the area for harmful objects.

"Is this 'check the area' thing instinctual with humans or just the military?" he asked curiously.

"_Drilled_ into our heads, buddy. Not even Quetzalcoatl can shake it out of our heads," Maya replied tartly. Siado bounded out of Eito's Humvee, Anamaria right on his heels. Richard came around the Humvee and shouted, "Clear!"

Diego and Colonel Smith came around as well. Diego began to bark orders. "Maya, Marietta! Start breaking out the MREs! Tiny, Eito! Set up the tents with Nathanial! Richard, you're with me and Ma! We're getting firewood!"

Blazier opted to go with Diego, Richard and Diego's mother in search of firewood. Tiny, Eito, and Nathanial ruffled through the supplies in Richard's Humvee for the tents. Anamaria and Colonel Smith gathered around the remaining scouts to talk. Maya and Marietta began to shift through the Colonel's Humvee for the Ready Made Meals.

In less than an hour, dinner was made. Everyone was laughing and carrying on over the freeze-dried food and fresh fruit. Maya was minding her manners and not asking anything too personal about their guides. Diane wasn't looking too well so Diego made her get back into the Humvee. It was almost sunset when she heard something snap in the woods around them. Quickly she stood.

"What's up?" Tiny asked. Maya shushed him. He narrowed his eyes; Tiny did not like attitude thrown at him. "Don't you be shushing me, missy!"

"Shut up, Tiny! Can't you hear the leaves? Something's moving out there!" Maya snapped. It was true, something was pushing leaves on bushes around, and it was directly in front of her. Another step towards a bush, and then all hell broke loose.

….

Richard did not know what to expect on this trip. True, he made a list in his head about what could happen: giant rats, quicksand, stubborn kids, vicious locals. But nothing prepared him for the two kids popping out of the bush in front of Maya. Nor did the giant armored black cat hot on their heels.

Maya had the cat pinned so fast with her knife all Richard saw was a blur of fur and skin. The rest had their guns trained on the fur ball for back up. Their guides looked bewildered on why the humans were so tense. The two children, however, barely made it pass the Humvees before Eito caught them.

By the fire, Richard kept his gun on the cat as Eito dragged the children over. In the light, he could see that they were brother and sister, with mocha skin and hair. They looked to be about six or seven years old.

The cat was a different story. He had humanoid features to him, but they were covered in a soft, downy black fur. His armor only consisted of two bands circling around his strong arms meet his broad torso. He was growling low in his throat, eyes trained on Maya's stony face.

"Attacat, are those _your_ humans?" Rarran asked suddenly.

"Yes, and I would appreciate it if you would _let me go_ so that we can get back to our game." The low rumble sounded from deep within Attacat's chest upwards to his voice. Richard's paranoia took a step back at "game." Blazier and Siado had explained to them the activity that their leaders had come up with for the players to keep them entertained until the adults reached the city.

"No!" the girl screeched, laughter betraying her.

"Don't let him get us!" the boy giggled, obviously enjoying Attacat's discomfort. Richard looked to Diego and the Colonel for instructions. The Colonel nodded slowly and said, "Sergeant Tonaka, release the children."

Eito let his grip on the children go and they rushed off beyond the Humvees, giggling and laughing. Richard raised a brow when Colonel Smith turned to Maya and said, "Lieutenant Gomtez, release Attacat."

Maya frowned but did as she was ordered. Attacat, growling, bounded right after the children. The Colonel nodded. "They'll be back."

Ten minutes later, Attacat returned with the two children as night engulfed the camp. "May we stay for the night?" he asked politely, the children slung over his shoulders with their hands bound together.

The next morning following a rather uneventful night, the team was packing up and readying to move on to Kiru City. Attacat stayed in Richard, Eito, and Tiny's tent and kept the children with him at all times; he only went to sleep when the children stopped giggling and snuggled up to him. In Tiny's words "Is he really that snugglable?"

Richard shook his head as he packed up the tent. Attacat took his two charges while everyone was still asleep, heading to the city. Tying down the bundle of tarp, Richard tossed the tent in the Humvee. Looking over the camp, he felt proud about how well the team worked together in breaking camp.

"I call driving!" Maya cried, grabbing the keys away from Richard. Immediately, she clambered into the Humvee while Richard watched her in surprise. He had hoped that Maya wasn't in the mood for driving, but apparently not. He groaned inwardly; Maya had a bad habit of riding on another's bumper.

He got into the backseat, putting Wamma in the middle. Rainclouds swirled ominously, threating a wet day. The Colonel gave the order to move out and the Humvees went onward. Richard talked to Wamma, Nathanial, Marietta, and Maya during the trip, keeping a firm grip on the handle when Maya went over bumps in the road. Sometimes they saw Creatures with humans hanging onto them as they rushed past.

A little before midday, Richard saw Kiru City for the first time. Awe overtook him as the castle came into view, the city sprawling out beneath it. He wasn't the only one amazed. Nathanial inhaled sharply while Marietta muttered, "Oh my." Maya had muttered something in Spanish in reverence to Mary. Wamma just chuckled.

"You should see your faces," he chortled. It took little time to reach the wall's gate. Richard took a deep breath as Blazier and Rarran lead them up a bunch of stairs, bouncing the Humvees' passengers.

"Showtime," he muttered when the team reached the city's heart.

_**A/N: Chapter 9, done. Chapter 10 will come later, I swear. Review please!**_


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